Know Your Enemy
by x0clairedelunex0
Summary: Just as Adriana is adjusting to life in Port Charles, a boy named Kyle with charm and an agenda enters the picture. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends, and Adriana has to decide where to draw the line. Sequel to You Found Me.
1. Chapter 1

**Know Your Enemy**

_Chapter One_

"Hello?" Adriana called, her voice echoing in the cavernous entrance hall. There was no answer. She hadn't really been expecting one.

Adriana dropped her sports duffle on the ground, kicking off her cleats and putting them on top of the bag, where they'd be ready and waiting for her the next morning. Still in her shin guards, t-shirt, and mesh shorts, and high socks, with sweatpants and a ski jacket over it all, she made her familiar way to the kitchen. She had already gone through a whole bottle of Gatorade, and she desperately needed another.

A lot had changed since eight months ago, when Claudia had readopted her after her parents' death. She had a new home, a new school, new friends, and a new life.

To Adriana's surprise, she and Claudia had moved back into Claudia's childhood home. The place was humongous. Her first weeks here, Adriana had gotten lost at least once a day, just from her room to the kitchen. She was navigating better now. She knew where every single bedroom, sitting room, and bathroom were in the entire house.

At first, Adriana hadn't understood why Claudia had wanted to move back into this place. There were no good memories for her here. But the reason had made itself clear very soon.

After Sonny's disappearing act, his second-in-command, Jason Morgan, had taken over the business for him. Claudia had proposed a peaceful split, making the Zacchara and Corinthos organizations separate once more. Jason had agreed, and now Claudia was the sole leader of the Zacchara organization. The best home base for her was this house.

Adriana didn't understand why Claudia had to continue her father's business, why Jason couldn't just control both organizations and the mother and daughter could start a new life somewhere else, away from Port Charles, away from the mob, away from the horrible memories. But Claudia had refused. With her father in jail and Johnny unwilling to run the organization, Claudia believed that it was up to her to continue the Zacchara legacy. Adriana didn't like that Claudia was party of a lifestyle that had killed her parents, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

While Claudia was busy being the head of organized crime, Adriana had other things to worry about. She had started at Madison Prep, repeating her junior year because of last spring's events. It wasn't completely strange for her to be in a regular school system; before her father had started traveling for his job, she had attended public school back in London. It was only after freshman year that she had started traveling to world with her parents, being home-schooled along the way.

Even though it was kind of nice to be back at a normal school, it had been a disconcerting first couple of months. Rumors spread fast in Port Charles, and by the end of the first day, everyone knew that she was the love (and she used that word lightly) child of Claudia Zacchara and Trevor Lansing, and that Sonny Corinthos, famed mobster and town bad boy, had murdered her parents in cold blood. She had been treated like a swine flu patient for the first few weeks, mostly because people didn't know what to expect. Claudia was the daughter of the crazy Anthony Zacchara, and Trevor was known to be vindictive and ruthless. Add that to the trauma of losing your parents at such a young age, and she might as well have been wearing a sign that read "Ticking Time Bomb" around her neck.

But things started changing once she got more involved in school. She had tried out for her school's soccer team (she had just gotten used to saying "soccer" when the fall season ended), and, to her surprise, made varsity. Adriana absolutely loved soccer; she had played it ever since she was young, and it was one thing she had missed when she was on the road with her family. It was great to once again be part of something that was the same no matter what country she was in.

Soccer was where she had made most of her friends. Once people saw that she was a normal, functioning human being who just had an unfortunate past, they ignored the "Ticking Time Bomb" sign and started getting to know her. Adriana had enjoyed playing soccer for her school team so much that she had also tried out for the indoor winter team. Not only did she make it, but she also became captain.

Besides soccer, Adriana was keeping her mind busy in other ways. Being raised with the doctrine that you should always work for what you wanted, Adriana had gotten a job at Kelly's as a waitress. She remembered when she had told Claudia this; Claudia had laughed herself silly until she realized that Adriana wasn't kidding. Claudia had said that a Zacchara had never worked a minimum-wage job, mostly because it wasn't necessary. But Adriana didn't want everything handed to her on a silver platter. She liked working for what she deserved.

So, in between her homework (which was a lot, considering she took all AP and honors courses), soccer, and work, Adriana had her therapy sessions with Lainey Winters. Adriana liked Lainey; she was understanding, non-judgmental, and supportive. Besides Claudia, Lainey had been the only person that had helped Adriana get back on her feet after her parents' death. Even though it had been more than half a year, Adriana was still going, just not as much. She would try to go once or twice a week, depending on how the rest of her schedule worked out. But she felt that she wouldn't need Lainey for much longer. She was finally starting to heal.

Adriana trudged through the hallways of the house to the kitchen, where another Gatorade, cold and refreshing, was waiting for her. She was absolutely exhausted. After practice, she had had to go straight to General Hospital, because it was the only time that Lainey was free that week. She had looked like a freak, running through the hospital in her cleats and shin guards, sweat matting her hair. She had been there for an hour, but her day wasn't over yet. She still had a ton of homework to do.

Her route to the kitchen took her past the study, and she stopped, staring at the closed door. Claudia was in there now, and it was the reason that she hadn't answered when Adriana had called.

When Adriana had first come to this house, Claudia had given her the grand tour, showing her each and every room. Even though, through most of it, Adriana was just trying to remember where everything was, she was also listening to the stories Claudia told about each room. None of them were happy. There was the room where she and her brother would hide when their father went into one of his rages. There was the bottom of the staircase where Johnny's mother had been shot. And, of course, there was the study, where (and Claudia didn't have to explain this one) Adriana's life had begun.

The study door was closed ninety-nine percent of the time that Adriana passed it. Adriana knew she wasn't allowed in when it was closed, unless it was a life-or-death emergency. Sometimes the door would be open, and Claudia would be pouring over documents of something or other. At these times, Adriana would go in, and the two of them would talk, like they had known each other for years. The awkward part of their relationship was way over, and Adriana was finally able to allow herself to connect with her mother.

Sometimes, however, the door would be open, and nobody would be inside. When this happened, Adriana would go in by herself, and just think. It was a beautiful room, where there was a gorgeous view of the gardens from the balcony. But Adriana didn't care about flowers. She'd think of this room as it was about eighteen years ago, when Claudia had concocted her half-baked scheme, and Adriana had come into the world. Adriana could sit there for hours, trying to picture the day in her mind. Was it a sunny day or a rainy day? What had happened in the world that day? Did Claudia have this planned out for awhile, or did she just wake up that morning and decide to do it? Did Trevor Lansing have any idea what he was in for? Did Claudia? What was running through Anthony's mind when he walked in on his daughter and lawyer? Sometimes, Adriana felt that her life was just one big question mark.

Adriana shook these thoughts from her mind as she made her way into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of light blue Gatorade, chugging it until half of it was gone. She removed the bottle from her lips, wiping her mouth with her hand, gasping as she finally let herself breathe. She leaned against the closed refrigerator door. She still had to take a shower, and then she had homework. Well, nothing would get finished if she just stood around. She put the cap back on the Gatorade and made her way upstairs.

*

Claudia was absolutely exhausted. All people ever did was complain, complain, complain. So many of her associates and come through the house that day, worrying over rumors that had been spread throughout the organization. They worried for their safety, for their family's safety, for their fiscal security—they worried about everything, and Claudia was sick of it. If you couldn't take the heat, get out of the mob.

She checked her watch. Six-thirty. She hadn't left the study all day. She was too busy dealing with the truths and lies about a new player in town. Manny Catolli had made his presence evident when he had blown up a Zacchara shipment and a Morgan shipment in the same night. Before Claudia could actually deal with the problem, she had to calm down every single frickin' member of her organization before they did something rash without her consent.

Claudia stretched and stood up. She was done. She would not answer another phone or take another visitor for the rest of the night, unless it was an emergency, which she sincerely hoped it wasn't. She grabbed an envelope from the pile of mail on her desk and left the study, turning off the light as she went.

She walked through the winding hallways of her home until she reached the entrance hall, where she smiled. Adriana's soccer bag and cleats were piled haphazardly next to the door like they always were. Sometimes, when people refused to accept that she wasn't on duty twenty-four seven and came at all hours of the night, they'd come in the door and stare at the bag with disgust, as if Claudia had the time to make sure everything was always neat and perfect. Claudia didn't care. She had never been a neat freak, and Adriana lived here. She could throw her bag wherever she wanted.

Claudia made her way up the stairs to the second floor, the envelope held tightly in her hand. She really shouldn't have opened it before Adriana came home, but she couldn't resist. Patience was not one of her strengths, and Adriana wouldn't really care anyway.

She finally arrived at Adriana's room, where the door was slightly ajar. Claudia pushed it open silently, and tried not to laugh at what she saw. She should be used to it by now, but it was just so amusing. Adriana was lying on her stomach on her bed, her long, brown hair tied up in a wet ponytail, with two textbooks open around her, typing on her laptop. She had her earphones in, and a muted soccer game was playing on the television. Every once in awhile she'd glance up from her work to catch a glimpse of the game, and then would immediately go back to typing. Her school uniform was hanging on her closet doorknob, ready for the next day, and the t-shirt, shorts, socks, and sweats that she had worn to soccer practice lay in a heap on the floor, her shin guards topping the pile.

Claudia decided to make her presence known. "Hey," she said, and Adriana jumped. She looked towards her door, saw Claudia, and smiled, turning off the television and taking out her earphones.

"What's up?" she said, wincing as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. They had done conditioning at practice that day, and her muscles ached all over.

"You okay?" asked Claudia, coming in and sitting on the bed.

"Yeah," said Adriana. "We did conditioning today, but I'll get over it."

"You do too much sometimes," said Claudia. She really did worry about her daughter putting herself under so much pressure.

Adriana shrugged. "I know. But I like doing a lot. I like keeping myself busy."

"And it all pays off," said Claudia, brandishing the envelope. Adriana looked at it, seeing her school's logo in the upper left-hand corner. She knew exactly what it was. Her left hand went immediately to her necklace, which she always fingered when she was nervous. It had been her first ever birthday present from Claudia, and she cherished it deeply. Claudia had used her various connections to get the police to hand over Adriana's parents personal items from the night they had been murdered. One of them had been her mother's engagement ring. Claudia had kept the ring hidden away for months, buying a silver chain to make it a necklace, until July, when Adriana had her seventeenth birthday. Besides soccer practice, showering, and sleeping, Adriana did not take the necklace off.

"My report card came?" she asked, taking it from Claudia with the hand that wasn't holding the necklace. She looked at the top, and saw that a letter opener had already torn through it.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," said Claudia, seeing Adriana's puzzled face.

"No, it's okay," said Adriana. She held the envelope in her hand, apprehensive about seeing her grades.

Claudia took note of her nervousness. "Are you gonna open it?"

"You do it," said Adriana, shoving it back into Claudia's hands. It had been a long time since she'd opened a report card, and she didn't know what to expect. What if her grades were terrible? She did her homework and did okay on tests, but her participation wasn't all it might be, and her teachers deducted grades for things like that. Would Claudia hate her if she wasn't a model student?

"Okay," said Claudia, taking the paper out of the envelope for the second time that day. She scanned over the grades (even though she already knew what they were), and turned the paper around so Adriana could see. "Congratulations."

Adriana gaped at what she saw. English: A. History: A. Spanish: A. Physics: A. Calculus: A-. Gym: A+.

"I have a straight-A daughter," said Claudia, feeling more proud than she had ever felt before.

"Not really," said Adriana. "I got an A minus in calc."

"Oh, boo-hoo, an A minus in calc," Claudia mocked playfully. Adriana laughed. "I never even made it to calculus." She smiled warmly. "I am so proud of you."

"Thanks," said Adriana. She was so happy. She had made Claudia proud. All this time, she had been so afraid that she would disappoint Claudia, that Claudia would regret claiming her as her own. But she hadn't. She was captain of the winter soccer team. She had a job. She was a straight-A student. Everything in her life was going right, even at the point where she thought everything would be going wrong. She was in control of her life, which would probably make Lainey happy as well.

"So, to celebrate this victory," said Claudia, "I was thinking we'll have your favorite dinner tonight?"

Adriana beamed. Ever since she had come to America, she had found a love for take-out Chinese and Dr. Pepper. "Really?"

"Yes, really," said Claudia, standing up. "I'm gonna go call it in. The usual?"

The usual was wanton soup, sweet-and-sour pork, and white rice. "Of course."

"Alright, I'll go call and pick it up. Be back in twenty, 'kay?"

"Okay," said Adriana, still smiling as Claudia walked out the door.

Wow, thought Adriana, still staring at her report card. She couldn't believe that she had gotten all A's. She took the report card and placed it on her bedside table, where she put all the things that were special to her. There was her MVP trophy from the fall soccer season. A picture of her and Claudia at a Yankee's game, each of them with a blue-and-white baseball cap. And, front and center, was a picture of Adriana and her parents in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, a month before they had died.

Adriana tried not to cry as she looked at this picture. Why should she? She looked at it every night before she went to sleep. But something inside of her triggered a sadness that she hadn't been expecting. She wished her parents were here, to congratulate her for her good grades. But, Adriana thought to herself, she knew that they were looking down on her from wherever they were, watching over her all the time. They were the reason that her report card didn't have a single B on it. It was all their doing.

Given her circumstances, Adriana had everything that she could possibly want.

At least, that was what she thought, until she got involved with Kyle.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

"I can't believe you did better in English than I did," said Kristina. She leaned on the front counter of Kelly's, while Adriana wiped it down with a rag.

"I think it was that _Hamlet _essay that did it," said Adriana, stopping her wiping to talk to her friend. Even though Kristina's father was the one responsible for Adriana's parents' death, Adriana didn't judge Kristina. After all, she wasn't one to judge others by their fathers. "Remember, she made me read it front of the whole class?"

"Yeah, your face turned bright red!" said Kristina, remembering the day very clearly.

Adriana remembered it as well. Public speaking wasn't a talent of hers. Her palms got sweaty and her knees knocked together. And, when she was really nervous, her face and even her arms would become splotchy and red.

"It was absolutely awful!" complained Adriana. "I'm going to purposefully write B-worthy essays in her class from now on just to avoid something like that happening again."

"Are you girls still chit-chatting?" said a voice. Mike came out of the Kelly's kitchen, two hamburgers balanced on a tray in his hand. Both girls smiled embarrassedly as he made his way towards them.

"C'mon, Adriana, I pay you to wait tables, not to talk," he said. Adriana went back to her wiping. He turned to his granddaughter. "And I don't need you distracting her."

"Sorry, Grandpa," said Kristina. Mike dropped the hamburgers off at a table and went back into the kitchen. Once he was out of earshot, Kristina started talking again. "So, nervous about the physics test tomorrow?"

"Completely," said Adriana. She was about to go into detail when her conscience took over. "Look, I have work to do. I don't want your grandfather getting angry at us again."

"He wasn't angry, just frustrated," said Kristina. "I do talk to you a lot while you work."

"Maybe that's a hint that we should stop?" said Adriana, and Kristina laughed.

"C'mon, admit it. You'd be bored to tears if I wasn't here to make conversation."

Adriana smiled and sighed. While Kristina was being a bit full of herself (after all, it wasn't like she was Adriana's only friend), Adriana did have to admit that her being around made her shift go by a lot faster.

"So, what do you wanna focus on when we study tonight?" asked Kristina. Adriana was going over to her house to cram for the next day's test.

"Uh, everything," said Adriana. "I don't understand what we're learning at all."

Kristina snorted. "Don't put on that act, Miss I Have An A In Physics."

"Yeah, and I'd like to keep that A," said Adriana. She was a little tired of Kristina poking at her good grades. It was almost like being an A student was something to be ashamed of. But Adriana knew that wasn't what was bothering her friend. Kristina worked hard for her grades, and wasn't always too happy when someone did better than her.

"Oh, I can't give you a ride home," said Kristina. "My mom has to work late, its Viola's night off, and I'm not allowed to drive after dark."

Adriana shrugged. "That's okay. I'll just call Claudia to send the car." Between school work, soccer, her job, and therapy, Adriana didn't have time to even think about getting her driver's license.

"Girls," sang Mike, coming out of the kitchen again. "What did I say?"

"Sorry, Mike," said Adriana, feeling her cheeks turn red in embarrassment.

"Look, I have to run over an order to the hospital real quick," he said, brushing away Adriana's apology. "Think you can hold down the fort until I get back?"

Adriana nodded. "Sure. Of course."

Mike sighed, not sure if he wanted to leave his diner to his chatty employee and granddaughter. "Alright, I'll be back in half an hour." And, with that, he headed out the door, leaving Adriana in charge.

"Okay, now that he's gone," said Kristina, "did you hear about Megan Hadden and Joe Lestrange?"

Adriana rolled her eyes. "Kristina, not now. I'd actually like to keep my job."

Kristina looked around the diner. "There's practically no one here." It was true. The diner was never very crowded this time of day, between the end of school and rush hour. There were a few students studying in a corner and several other patrons scattered across the diner, but it really wasn't that full. Adriana was the only waitress on the shift, and sometimes she even thought that Mike could do without her.

"I know, but still…" said Adriana, not meeting her friend's eye.

"What?" questioned Kristina.

"It's just…" started Adriana, but trailed off. It was just what? Mike wasn't there. He wouldn't know if she had disobeyed him by talking to Kristina. But there was still that voice inside her head, a moral compass almost. She had never really figured out how to turn it off.

But she would, sooner than she thought.

The door to the diner opened, letting in a blast of cold, November air. In came a kid who looked to be in high school, tall, with dark, wavy brown hair and deep, chocolate brown eyes. He had on a uniform that both Kristina and Adriana recognized as Madison Prep's. When Adriana saw him, she felt panic overtake her body and dropped to her knees behind the counter.

Kristina watched her friend practically melt behind the counter, and went down herself, trying to figure out the situation. "What are you doing down here?"

Adriana hugged her knees up to her chest with one arm, twirling her necklace with her right hand. She heard his deep, calming voice over all the others in the diner as he talked to some of the students near the door. What was he doing here? She had never seen him here before. Why did he have to come when she was working?

"Adriana, what's going on?" asked Kristina, not following the scenario at all. "Who is that guy?"

"That's Kyle Cabalo," whispered Adriana, for fear that he might hear her. "He's a senior. He just transferred into my Spanish class last week." There was more to it than that, but Adriana was a little embarrassed to go into the rest of it.

Kristina recognized the name. "Oh, yeah, I think Kiefer knows him. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing down here."

Adriana gulped. She didn't really want to elaborate. No one knew about her little crush on Kyle, and she wasn't that eager to talk about it. But Kristina was her friend. She had every right to know.

"Well, I kind of have this crush on him," she admitted, blushing hard.

Kristina covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. "You're getting all worked up over a crush? Have you even ever talked to him?"

"He asked me for a pencil the other day, that's it."

Kristina could barely contain her excitement. "No way! He was totally flirting with you!"

"Shh!" said Adriana. She would die if he overheard their conversation. "No he wasn't. The next day he asked your brother for a pencil."

"Because he was too nervous to talk to you again," explained Kristina, as if it was obvious.

Adriana was getting frustrated. "Will you stop overanalyzing this?"

"Wait, I still don't get why you're hiding from him," said Kristina, ignoring Adriana's question.

"Because I don't want him to know I work here," said Adriana. "I'd rather he thought I had a life."

"Hello? Anyone here?" asked a voice. Kyle's voice. Adriana swore under her breath. Now she'd have to awkwardly get up from the floor and make up some story about why she was there in the first place.

"Stay down here," she whispered to Kristina, who nodded, before getting up. She saw Kyle jump, not expecting her to come up from behind the counter. She tried not to get lost in his dark eyes and she told her lie.

"Sorry, didn't mean to, um, scare you," she stammered, brushing flyaway pieces of her hair behind her ears, her right hand still twirling her necklace. "I was just, uh, cleaning up a spill." Kyle nodded as Adriana realized her mistake. "Not that I was the one who spilled it, because I don't do things like that. I was, uh, you know, cleaning up someone else's—look, what can I get you?"

Kyle smiled, and Adriana noticed for the first time how perfectly straight and white his teeth were. She tried not to stare as he said, "Can I just get a small black coffee, to go?"

"Sure," said Adriana. She turned away from the counter to pour the coffee into a Styrofoam cup, feeling Kristina poke her in the calf. She ignored the poke as she focused on getting the coffee from the pot to the cup without spilling it.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" asked Kyle.

Adriana tried not to smile too much as she brought the coffee back over to the counter, putting a lid on it. He recognized her. Maybe Kristina was right. "Uh, yeah. I sit behind you in Spanish? You asked me for a pencil the other day?"

His face lit up with realization. "Oh, right. Adrienne?"

"Adriana," she corrected, her hopes faltering a little. That's what he had called her when he had asked for the pencil.

"Right. Sorry," he said, taking the coffee and pulling out his wallet. "How much?"

"Two ninety-five," said Adriana.

He pulled a five dollar bill out of the wallet and handed it to her. "Keep the change," he said, and they both smiled.

"Uh, sure. Thanks," said Adriana, taking the money and putting it into the register. Kyle picked up the coffee, giving her a little wave as he started towards the door.

"So, I'll see you in English," he said over his shoulder.

"Spanish," Adriana muttered under her breath as he mercifully exited the diner.

Kristina jumped up for her hiding spot, her mind exploding with excitement. She had always liked drama; it added spark to her normally bland life. She liked it even better when it didn't have anything to do with her. "We need to work on your flirting skills."

Adriana rolled her eyes. "Can we just leave it alone, please?"

"No," said Kristina simply. "You obviously like this guy a lot. I would hate to see you all depressed over it."

"I don't like this guy 'a lot,'" Adriana clarified. "It's a crush, that's it. In a couple weeks I won't even care about him."

Kristina just stared at her. "Are you crazy? Why are you so down on yourself?"

"Look, before you started going out with Kiefer, how many other guys did you have crushes on?"

Kristina smiled, remembering her boy-crazy freshmen and sophomore years. Those had been some good times. "I don't know, exactly. A lot, though."

"See? You're proving my point," argued Adriana. "It's not rocket science. You like a guy, and then someone better comes along, and you forget about them. I'm not going to get myself worked up over someone that I don't even have a chance with."

"What is it with you and your Johnny Raincloud attitude? What makes you think you don't have a chance with Kyle?"

"Besides the fact that he doesn't know my name or what class we have together?"

"Do you know how many people call me Christine a day? Adriana has its variations, too."

Adriana sighed. She just wasn't getting it. "But if he had any interest in me at all, I'd like to think that he'd at least make an effort to remember my name."

Kristina shook her head, ignoring Adriana's last comment. "Boys are stupid. I'm telling you, he was just flustered. It happens."

"You know what, none of this matters anyway," said Adriana, deciding that it was finally time to end the discussion. "I don't have time for a boyfriend, whether it's Kyle or someone else, so this whole situation is just a moot point."

Kristina folded her hands over her chest. "Please. Everyone has time for a boyfriend."

"Not me," said Adriana. Kristina decided not to press it anymore. Adriana was just being stubborn, something she had inherited from her mother. It wasn't worth the breath to try and argue with her.

"How much longer until your shift's over?" she asked, and Adriana was happy that she was finally changing the subject.

Adriana checked her phone. "About an hour."

"Alright," said Kristina. "I'm gonna go run over to the library. I'll be back when you're done."

"Okay," said Adriana, watching her friend finally leave so that she could work in peace.

As Adriana worked through the rest of her shift, Kristina's words kept popping up in her head. Was she right? Was Kyle really so interested in her that he forgot what class they had together, even her name? The way Kristina was telling it, it wasn't impossible, but Adriana still had her doubts. Even though she agreed that boys could be stupid at times, she had always thought that they were pretty uncomplicated and honest. Kyle seemed like the kind of guy with a good head on his shoulders. He didn't seem like he would be someone to play games with her. As she kept thinking about it, she decided that she was right and Kristina was wrong. Kyle had no interest in her whatsoever. It kind of bothered her now, but she would eventually get over it. She had enough going on in her life to distract her, and soon, she probably wouldn't even remember having a crush on him.

But even as she tried to convince herself of her own opinion, there was still the voice in the back of her head that told her to hold on, just a little longer.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Adriana stuffed her hands into her coat pockets, trying to get them warm. It was November in New York, which already implied freezing, but it was also after dark, so there was no sun to provide even the smallest bit of heat. If Claudia had just picked up the phone, the entire situation could have been avoided, and Adriana wouldn't be turning into an icicle.

Adriana checked herself. She didn't have anything to be angry about. Claudia hadn't answered the phone, but so what? A little exercise wouldn't hurt anybody (though she'd hardly call the five mile walk from Kristina's house to hers just a little exercise). Besides, Claudia was probably busy with something important. There was the occasional visitor that came after Claudia had already closed up shop. Maybe she was in an important meeting and couldn't be disturbed by something as trivial as a ride.

Adriana tried to focus on the positive. She and Kristina had gotten a lot of studying done, and she felt confident about the next day's test. She'd be in great shape for practice tomorrow; she doubted anyone else on the team was braving a five-mile walk through the streets of Port Charles, after ten at night, in below-freezing temperatures. Sure, she'd be exhausted as hell the next morning, but she didn't have physics until after lunch, so she'd have enough time to rest up before her science wits were put to the test.

She quickened her pace as she started to turn off of the main road and onto the road that led to Port Charles Harbor, a shortcut she had found by walking to and from Kristina's house multiple times when Claudia didn't answer the phone. She remembered how proud she was to have found this shortcut, sharing with Claudia her navigational skills of Port Charles. Claudia had flipped out when this news was shared. She didn't want Adriana anywhere near the harbor, especially not by herself. It was mob territory, and she didn't know how she would live if her daughter got caught up in something. Taking her mother's vehemence into account, Adriana hadn't taken the shortcut since. But her curfew was eleven, and she didn't want to miss it. And what Claudia didn't know wouldn't kill her.

Adriana walked in silence, checking her phone for the time. She had forty-five minutes before her curfew came. She'd make it home by then. She only had a little over a mile left. As long as she got home before eleven, Claudia wouldn't ask any questions. And, if by some chance she did, Adriana would simply lie and say that Alexis had driven her home. No reason to get her worked up over nothing.

As Adriana reached the halfway point of her shortcut, she started to hear footsteps behind her. She stole a glance over her neck, but didn't see anyone. It was probably just her mind playing tricks on her. It was late, and it had been a long day. She had had a history and a calculus test that day. Then, she had gone home, changed, and worked a three-hour shift at Kelly's. And, of course, there was her intense study session with Kristina, where the only break was to eat a couple slices of the pizza that they had ordered. And now she had just walked four miles in the bitter cold. It was no wonder that she was hearing things.

But then the footsteps came again. Adriana turned all the way around. Nothing. She could have sworn that she really heard someone this time. But it was probably something else. Why was she getting so spooked about this? Last week, she and her friends from the soccer team had had a post-Halloween _Saw _marathon. She was still a little jumpy from it. Maybe that was why she was being so paranoid.

But it wasn't paranoia. Just as she started walking again, she heard the footsteps, faster this time, and harder, as if the person was walking with a purpose. She wasn't taking anymore chances. She thanked God that she had used Kristina's books to study and hadn't brought her heavy backpack as she started into a light jog. The faster she got home, the better. She would listen to Claudia and never take this shortcut again, especially not at night.

As she set a pace, the footfalls behind her grew louder, as if they were coming closer. Adriana started to run faster, hyperventilating. She hadn't been this scared in months, not since she stopped having nightmares. She just had to keep running, and she'd be back on the main road in no time. No one would dare try anything with cars flying by. She just had to get there.

The footsteps behind her grew louder and faster, and Adriana's head cleared itself of all rational thoughts. There was no one around except her and this mystery person. She had her phone, but she couldn't risk the time it would take to stop and make a call. She just had to keep going and pray that she'd be fast enough. Without thinking, she made a turn and saw that it was a dead end. An alley going nowhere.

Damn it, Adriana thought. She knew this shortcut like the back of her hand. Why had she made that turn, especially now, of all times? She was about to backtrack and try to find the right way when a man, barely older than herself, blocked her exit.

Adriana felt herself stop breathing. She wanted to scream, but couldn't find her voice. She wanted to run, but her feet were glued to the ground. They had talked about this in health class—how panic affected people, how it could paralyze someone at the exact moment that they needed to do something. Adriana had brushed it off like everything else she learned in that class, but now she saw that it was true. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breath. All she could do was stand there and panic.

The man made his slow way towards her. Adriana felt her body tense up. What could she do? She was athletic, yes, but she didn't have the muscle to fight off someone of his size, at least six foot and twice her width. But any thoughts of fighting him off were swept out of her mind as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pocketknife.

Adriana stared at the knife in horror. The blade glinted in the moonlight, a silent signal that she picked up on instantly. She only had one thought now: to get out of the harbor with her life intact.

"Give me your money!" the man shouted, his voice gruff and threatening. Adriana didn't think twice as she searched her pockets for cash. She found two twenties in the back pocket of her jeans. She took them out slowly and held them out to the man.

"Put it on the ground!" he yelled. Adriana obeyed slowly bending down and placing the cash at her feet.

"And your jewelry!" Adriana took her diamond studs out of her ears, setting them right next to the cash on the ground.

"Here," she said, her voice shaking. "Now l-let me go."

The man began to lower his knife when he noticed something that Adriana hadn't handed over. "And your necklace."

Adriana's heart skipped a beat. Her necklace? Anything but that. The necklace meant everything to her. It was the only thing she had left of her parents. She would not give it up for the world.

"Please," she begged. "Just let me go. I won't tell anyone about this, I promise. Just please let me go."

The man shook his head. "Give me your necklace. Then you can go."

"Please," she moaned again. "Don't take my necklace. You don't know how much it means to me. Just take my money and my earrings and please let me go."

"I'll give you 'till the count of three," he threatened, raising the knife again. "One—"

"No, I'm begging you—"

"Two—"

"Just let me go, please—"

He didn't say three. Instead, he rushed at Adriana his knife in front of him. Before she could react, he had his arm around her neck in a chokehold and was holding the blade of his knife to the side of her face. Adriana tried to scream, but she didn't have the breath.

"I warned you, bitch," he whispered in her ear. The blade became harder against her cheek, and Adriana could feel warm blood start to trickle down her face. Her vision became blurred as she gasped for air. This was it. Her last view of Earth would be the brick of an alley wall, her final thoughts of terror and pain. This must have been what her parents felt when they drew their last breaths.

But it wasn't over. Adriana heard the unmistakable thwack of someone getting punched, and she felt the man's body loosen from around her. As she turned around to see what had happened, a fist collided with her eye, sending her flying to the ground, where her face scratched against the pavement. She waited until she stopped seeing double to look up at the scene that was playing before her eyes.

Someone had come up behind the man and attacked him, and now the two of them were shoving, pushing, and attempting to strangle each other. They were so entangled that Adriana could barely tell where her attacker started and the other person ended. It wasn't until one final thwack that her attacker's body hit the pavement next to hers, his eyes closed and his mouth agape.

Adriana started breathing again, her breath forming a fog as she tried to regain her sanity. She looked up to see the person who had saved her brushing his hair out of eyes. He looked very familiar.

"Kyle?" she asked, almost not trusting her vision. Her eye throbbed as if it had a heartbeat all its own, and she still felt blood escaping her cheek.

"Adriana?" he asked, bewildered. Well, at least he remembered my name this time, Adriana couldn't help but think to herself.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, struggling to stand up. He held out his hand and supported her as she got back on her feet.

"I could ask you the same question," he said, smiling.

Adriana tried not to stare as she explained herself. "I was walking home from Kristina's—you know, Kristina Davis?" He nodded. "I was walking home from her house when this guy jumped me and made me give him all my money and my jewelry, but then I didn't give him my necklace because it means so much to me so he attacked me—"

"Okay, calm down, calm down," he said, holding up his hands in a seemingly calming manner. "It's all over now."

"What're you doing down here?" Adriana asked again.

"I live around here," he said. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk. I heard that guy shout so I came over to see what was going on. By the way, you're welcome."

Adriana could have killed herself for not thanking him right off the bat. "I'm sorry. Thank you so much."

He laughed. "Anytime." He noticed that she was still shaking and asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Adriana lied. "Just give me a minute to sort it all out."

"I don't think we have a minute," said Kyle. "You need to go to the hospital."

Adriana frowned. "For what? I'm fine."

"That cut on your face could use a few stitches," he said, pointing at it. Adriana placed her hand on the cut and brought it back to see it covered in blood.

"It's not that bad," she said. "I'll be fine."

"Look, are you—"

"I'm fine," she snapped.

He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Alright, if you say so. Want me to walk you home?"

Adriana wanted nothing more, but not just because she was scared out of wits to walk home by herself ever again. "If it's not too much trouble."

Kyle shook his head. "No, it's cool."

Adriana turned around to look at her unconscious attacker. "He's not dead, is he?"

Kyle laughed. "No, of course not. He's just knocked out. We better get out of here fast, though, before he comes around."

Adriana nodded. She slowly picked up her money and earrings from the ground, glancing one last time at the unconscious man, before she followed Kyle out of the harbor and away from her nightmare.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kyle asked, looking at Adriana like she was about to drop dead at any second. Adriana had requested that they part at the corner of her street; she didn't want the awkwardness of him walking her up to the gate, where the guards were. She wasn't even sure if she'd go in that way herself. She didn't want the questions that would come when they saw her face.

Adriana nodded, her head throbbing as she did so. She still had a headache from when her face hit the pavement, causing her to feel a tad dizzy when she moved too fast. Her right hand tried to stop the flow of blood from the cut on her cheek, while her left clutched her necklace in a death grip. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaky."

"I bet," said Kyle, trying to make eye contact with her. Her eyes were looking anywhere but his. He ignored her avoidance as he continued. "I think the bleeding is slowing down. You're gonna have a nasty scar though. And a black eye."

"Great," said Adriana. "Just what I need."

"Do you think you'll go to school tomorrow?" asked Kyle.

"I have to," insisted Adriana. "I have a huge physics test. Did you have Mrs. Myers for physics?"

"Yeah," said Kyle, nodding.

"Then you know that she won't take 'I got mugged last night' as an excuse for not doing my best," said Adriana bitterly.

Kyle knew. Mrs. Myers didn't take any excuses. A kid was out with mono once for three weeks, and she had expected to him to have all of his work done by the next day. A mugging wouldn't even faze her.

"You're sure you're alright?" he asked again.

"I'm fine," Adriana insisted. "I'm gonna go upstairs and take a nice, long bubble bath and try to forget that this ever happened."

"Alright, then I'll see you in school, I guess," he said, starting to walk away.

"Wait," Adriana called to him. He stopped and turned around. "Thank you so much for saving me. I might be dead now if you hadn't decided to take a walk."

Kyle grinned, his smile making Adriana weak at the knees. "Anytime. See you tomorrow." And, with that, they both went their separate ways.

As Adriana started walking up her street, she tried to sort out the many emotions running through her head. First and foremost was fear. She should never have taken that shortcut. That guy could have killed her. She should have listened to Claudia and not gone down to the harbor at night. Adriana hadn't had her nightmares in awhile, but she had a feeling that they might return soon.

The next feeling was embarrassment. Kyle had seen her at her weakest moment. She couldn't even fight off a mugger, and she was supposed to be captain of her soccer team. She had risked her life for a necklace that, even though it meant everything to her, was not worth dying for. He probably thought that she was a complete idiot and would never talk to her again.

But, even though she felt incredibly embarrassed, Adriana had an almost giddy feeling beneath her shame. Kyle had come to her rescue. Her life was at stake and he had saved it. So what if he didn't remember her name? He had risked his own hide to fight off that mugger and save her from a death by stabbing. He cared enough to do something like that. Maybe she did have a chance with him. Maybe there was something more.

Adriana finally reached the wrought-iron fence that lined the Zacchara estate. She started counting the vertical railings as she went. She didn't want the guards to see her like this, so she decided to use the secret entrance that only she and Claudia knew about. Claudia had devised it incase a mob war broke out and their own guards turned against them. She stopped at the forty-second vertical railing, loosening it from its place. She quietly snuck through the hole, placed the railing back, and headed for the house.

As Adriana opened the large front door, she saw that the entrance hall light was off and a surge of hope went through her. Maybe Claudia had gone to bed. It was well past her curfew, but Claudia trusted her enough to come home on time. She had never exceeded her curfew before, and this time wasn't her fault. Well, not completely.

Adriana closed the door behind her, making sure it didn't slam. She tiptoed her way towards the stairs, and was almost to the top when she heard the unmistakable click of a light switch. Busted.

"What took you so long?" asked Claudia's voice from the bottom of the stairs. Just don't turn around, Adriana told herself. As long as she doesn't see your face, you'll be fine.

"Uh, Alexis had to work late and couldn't give me a ride, so I walked home," said Adriana, still facing the top of the stairs. "Look, I'm really tired and I have that physics test tomorrow—"

"Not so fast," said Claudia, and Adriana winced as she heard her mother start to walk up the stairs. Her grip tightened on the railing. Claudia finally reached the step that she was on, wondering why her daughter was acting so strange.

"You walked home?" she questioned. Adriana had walked home from Kristina's before, but she had never acted so suspiciously about it.

"Yes," answered Adriana nervously, averting her mother's eye. Claudia didn't even believe her about that? How would she explain her face?

"Adriana, what's going on?" asked Claudia, also nervous. What was Adriana hiding from her? "Where you doing something that you shouldn't have been?"

"No!" said Adriana, finally facing her mother to deny the accusation. Claudia gasped and covered her mouth when she saw her daughter's face. A long cut went down the side of her cheek, and Adriana was trying to stop the flow of blood with the sleeve of her jacket. Her left eye was starting to swell and turn a purplish color around its rim. She had various other cuts and bruises, and her top lip was swollen like it had been punched.

"Dear God, what happened?" asked Claudia in an almost-whisper. She reached out to touch one of Adriana's cuts, but her daughter shied away from her hand, shame and embarrassment written all over her face.

"I, uh, I fell," Adriana lied, her eyes on the ground.

"Into what, a weed whacker?" asked Claudia with a dry chuckle. "C'mon, what happened?"

"Nothing," Adriana insisted, starting to head up the stairs again. Claudia was not letting it go that easily. She took her hand and grabbed Adriana sharply by the chin, forcing her daughter to look her in the eye. Adriana winced at the pain that shot through her head, but didn't say a word as Claudia's brown eyes bore into hers.

"Tell me exactly what happened to you," said Claudia. Horrible thoughts raced through her head. Manny Catolli had already blown up a shipment. Would he go to such lengths as to send someone to rough up her daughter? Was this a warning? Was Adriana lucky to still be alive? Or was it completely random? Adriana had walked home by herself, and Port Charles wasn't known for its model citizens. Whoever it was, Claudia made a mental note to beat the living hell out of them when she figured it out.

Adriana sighed. What had happened to her was so embarrassing. And she didn't want Claudia to know that it had all happened just because she hadn't listened to her. But she didn't want to lie anymore. She wasn't very good at it, and she had one of the guiltiest consciences on the planet. "I got mugged."

Claudia was still in shock. "Mugged?"

Adriana nodded. "Yeah."

Claudia didn't know where to start with the question-asking. "Are you okay? Did they take anything? Did you know who it was?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Adriana said, trying to calm her down. "Just a few cuts and bruises. He tried to take some money and my earrings, but them back."

"Well, you could've been a lot less lucky," said Claudia. So, it had been random. Catolli was rich enough. He didn't need to send someone to steal money and some jewelry from a teenager. That made Claudia feel a little bit better.

"I know," said Adriana. "But I'm fine, and that's all that matters." Once again, she tried to go up the stairs, but, once again, Claudia was not letting her.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said, looking at the nasty cut on Adriana's cheek. "Then you can tell me everything."

*

"Okay, so, like I said, I had to walk home from Kristina's because Alexis wasn't there to give me a ride," Adriana explained. She sat on the kitchen counter where the entire inventory of General Hospital was out and ready, holding an ice pack to her swollen eye. Claudia wiped the knife cut with a disinfectant while Adriana explained herself. "So, because I didn't want to miss my curfew, I took the shortcut through the harbor—"

Claudia stopped her work to reprimand her daughter. "Damn it, what did I tell you about going through there?"

"I'm sorry," said Adriana, feeling very guilty and extremely stupid. "Like I said, I didn't want to miss my curfew—"

"You could've called me," scorned Claudia. "I would've sent the car to pick you up from Kristina's."

"I did," said Adriana bitterly. "You didn't answer."

Claudia remembered. She had been on a business call for an hour and a half. That was probably when Adriana had tried to reach her. "I'm sorry. It was—"

"Business, I know," Adriana finished for her. Claudia sensed the hostility in her daughter's voice. She knew that Adriana didn't like her choice of "career," but that wasn't the issue at hand.

"What happened next?" she asked, going back to wiping Adriana's cut.

"Well, this guy cornered me and told me to give him all my money and my jewelry," said Adriana, wincing at the sting from the disinfectant. "So, I gave him the forty dollars and my earrings, but he noticed my necklace and asked for that, too."

Claudia knew where this was going. She rarely ever saw Adriana without her mother's ring around her neck. She would give anything for that thing, even, it seemed, her common sense. "I'm guessing you didn't give it to him."

"No!" said Adriana. Didn't Claudia understand how special the necklace was to her? She started twirling it again, the diamond from the ring glinting in the light of the kitchen. "How could I possibly give this up? It's the last thing I have of my mother."

"Adriana," sighed Claudia as she stopped disinfecting the cut again, "I understand how much that necklace means to you, but I can't believe you risked your life for it." Adriana rolled her eyes. Claudia would never understand.

Claudia noticed the eye roll and stopped her advice-giving to address the attitude she was getting. "Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm not gonna sugarcoat it—what you did was stupid. You have to start thinking with your head, not your heart."

"But—"

"No," scolded Claudia, cutting her off. "I don't want to get into this with you. Just tell me what happened."

Adriana let out her breath in a frustrated huff before continuing. "So, I didn't give him my necklace, and it kind of pissed him off—"

"Yeah, I can see that," Claudia interjected.

"He came at me with his knife and…" Adriana trailed off. She didn't want to think about it. She wanted to go to bed, get up in the morning, and go to school like nothing had ever happened. The night had just been a bad dream. When she woke up, her scars and bruises would be gone and Kyle would still remain oblivious about her existence.

Claudia noticed her daughter's hesitancy, and didn't want to push the envelope, but she still had so many questions. "Okay, you don't have to tell me the whole story," she said, looking at the items spread over the kitchen counter, trying to find the gauze bandages. "But I just want to know one thing: how did you get away?"

Adriana didn't mind telling this part, even if it was a little humiliating. "Kyle just happened to be taking a walk on the docks—"

"Who's Kyle?" questioned Claudia, finding the gauze bandages and taking one out of the box.

"This senior in my Spanish class," Adriana said a little too quickly. Claudia noticed the change in speed of her daughter's voice, and knew immediately that there was something more to it than what Adriana was saying. But she kept her curiosity to herself and let her daughter finish. "Anyway, he lives near the harbor and he was taking a walk when he heard what was going on. He came over and beat the crap out of the guy who was mugging me. Then, he walked me home."

Claudia placed the gauze bandage to Adriana's cut, securing it on with surgical tape. It would have looked funny if it wasn't so serious. "That's the best I can do," she said. "The bleeding should stop by tomorrow morning. You'll be able to cover up all your cuts with makeup. I don't know what we can do about your black eye, though. I still think we should take you to the hospital, make sure everything's okay."

"I'm fine," Adriana spat, sounding like a broken record.

"Are you sure?" asked Claudia. "I'm no doctor, but that cut looks like it could use a couple stitches."

"I don't need a hospital," Adriana insisted. "A couple bumps and bruises never hurt anybody."

"Are you sure?" Claudia asked again, still thinking that Adriana needed a real doctor.

"Yes," Adriana groaned, hopping down from the counter. "Thanks for cleaning me up. I'm going to bed."

Before she could make it out the kitchen door, Claudia grabbed her lightly by the elbow. "No you're not."

Adriana turned around to face her mother, frustration written all over her battered face. "What?"

Claudia leaned against the kitchen counter, hungry for information. Childish it may have been, but it had been so long since she'd been in high school. "Tell me about this Kyle guy."

Adriana felt her cheeks grow red under her scratches. "There's nothing to tell. Before tonight, he was just some guy in my Spanish class."

Claudia wasn't buying it. "No he wasn't. You're blushing just talking about him."

Adriana cursed her inability to lie. "Okay, so he's a little more than that—"

"I knew it."

"But it's not a big deal!" Adriana implored. "I don't understand why everyone thinks it is!"

"Okay, don't get upset," calmed Claudia, holding her hands up defensively. "We don't have to talk about it. But if he hurts you, I'll squash him like a bug."

Adriana had to laugh. "He's the one that saved me tonight, remember?"

"Maybe I should send him a thank-you card, then," said Claudia smiling. Adriana smiled back.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," she said, not meeting her mother's eyes. "I'm just really scared."

"From tonight, or is it these feelings you have for Kyle?" Claudia questioned her.

Adriana didn't know how to answer her. Of course she was scared after what she had just been through. Anyone would be. But was it more? Having traveled around the world for the past two years of her life, she had never really had an opportunity to have feelings for anybody. Was this little crush on Kyle more than she thought it was?

"I don't know," she finally admitted. "Give me a little while to figure it out?"

Claudia nodded. "Sure." She finally left her post next to the counter and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "C'mon, I'll walk you upstairs. You need some rest."

"I know," said Adriana, letting herself be led out of the kitchen and to the entrance hall. "I need to be ready for that physics test tomorrow."

Claudia looked at her daughter like she was crazy. "You don't have to go to school tomorrow. You should stay home, get over what happened."

Adriana shook her head. "No. I have to take that test."

Claudia laughed. "I don't think I've ever heard of a kid who was told that they didn't have to go to school and insisted on going anyway."

"I guess I'm just different than your average teenager," said Adriana, and they both laughed.

*

Kyle slammed the front door of his family's estate, pissed as hell about what had just happened. How could his father do something like that? Adriana hadn't done anything wrong. Why had he even agreed to go along with this? Adriana could've been killed over something that didn't have anything to do with her.

"What are you trying to do, wake the whole damn neighborhood?" a gruff voice shouted from down the hall. Kyle shook his head, ignoring it. He was tired, and just wanted to forget about what had happened.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" the voice asked, coming closer as Kyle started up the stairs. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

"Why not?" Kyle yelled, finally turning around. His father stood at the end of the stairs, still in the suit he had had on that day, a glass of brandy in his hand. "You don't deserve anything more than that!"

"Don't talk to me like that! I am your father, damn it, and you'll treat me with respect!"

"Respect?" Kyle questioned with a cruel chuckle. "Just because everyone who works for you worships the ground you walk on doesn't mean that I do!"

"Do not start with me!" his father shouted. "You gave me no choice! If you hadn't messed up today at the diner, than this wouldn't have been necessary."

"Look, I like Adriana," Kyle admitted. "I agreed to this because I didn't think she'd get hurt. I'm sorry I messed up at Kelly's today. I was nervous."

"Nervous?" his father spat. "Over a girl? A Catolli is never nervous over something like that! You should be ashamed!"

"Of what?" Kyle retorted. "Of letting you send that guy to beat the crap out of Adriana because I screwed up? Yeah, I am ashamed of that, but I'm not ashamed of the fact that I have a conscience!"

"A conscience?" questioned Manny. "You agreed to go to Madison Prep under the assumed name of Kyle Cabalo and work that little Zacchara until we got in deep enough to take the entire business down from the inside!"

"First of all, I've been Kyle Cabalo for two years, ever since we moved to Port Charles and you wanted to protect me from your enemies," argued Kyle. "Because of you, I can't have any real friends, because they might find out who I really am. And now you want me to sit back and watch while you send your men to go and mug people for no reason? She could've been killed, Dad!"

"But she wasn't," reasoned Manny. He walked up the stairs to get closer to his son, to make sure that he understood. "When you inherit this organization, you will learn the most important rule of business: take advantage of every opportunity. Claudia's long-lost daughter comes to town just when I'm about to give up on the Zacchara organization. What do I do? I take advantage of it. I have you, my son, my legacy, use that Zacchara to get the information we need to take them all down. When you get all tongue-tied over a girl, what do I do? I have her followed and mugged so that you can save the day and get yourself back in. Don't you see? You saved her life. She trusts you now. Everything is going perfectly because I know when to use what I'm given."

"I refuse to go along with this unless you promise not to touch Adriana again," said Kyle, disregarding his father's entire speech.

Manny sighed. "I can't promise that she won't get caught in the crossfire. No one can promise that." Kyle looked at his feet. They were talking about his mother now, who had died from a gunshot wound to the head a little over two years ago, back when they lived in Queens. That was why they had moved to Port Charles—to start over and fight for what they deserved. "But I will promise that it won't be by my command. She's not who we're after."

Kyle felt a little bit better. Despite what had happened tonight, he trusted his father. Manny wouldn't have done anything if he didn't think it was necessary. Besides, it was Kyle's own fault. If he hadn't gotten so nervous today at Kelly's and just asked Adriana out, she wouldn't have had to go through such an ordeal. But he was determined to do his job right, because, ironically, it was the only way to keep Adriana safe.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

Adriana slowly walked into her Spanish class, scanning the room for any sign of Kyle. He hadn't come yet, which didn't surprise her; she was usually there before him. She tried to make her way to her seat without attracting attention, but it was extremely hard to do when you had a black eye the size of an orange plastered on your face.

Adriana had had to deal with whispers, rumors, and questions all day. Well, not all day; it was only fifth period. But she was still sick of it. The only person that she had talked to about what had happened the previous night was Kristina, who had promised not to spread it around. So, since no one else knew what was going on, they had all made up their own versions of the story. Some people kept their rumors tame, thinking she just got hit in the eye with a soccer ball, or that she had walked into a door, or something embarrassing along those lines. Others went for the extremes, claiming that she had gotten into a drunken fight with some girls from the field hockey team. Adriana didn't really care what stories people made up; she knew the truth, and that was all that mattered.

Some people decided not to make up their own stories and instead went straight to the source, having the guts to come up to Adriana and ask what had happened. Adriana told them all the same thing: she had had a little accident and didn't want to talk about it. Most people respected her privacy, but there were the fair few that needed to know what had happened, as if their very lives depended on it. But Adriana remained tight-lipped; it was really no one's business but her own.

Stares followed her as she sat down in her seat and took her books out of her bag. Some people looked like they really wanted to ask her about the black eye, but one death glare from her was enough to get them to back off. The only person who dared to approach her was Michael, who leaned across the aisle to talk to his friend.

"I heard some pretty nasty rumors about…you know…" he said, making a small gesture toward her swollen eye. "What really happened?"

"I'll tell you later," said Adriana, planning on keeping her word. Michael had been a good friend to her; she didn't mind him knowing what had happened. But now wasn't the time or the place. People were not so subtly eavesdropping on their conversation, hoping to catch the truth about last night.

Michael looked at her, concerned. "I'm worried about you. Did someone hurt you?"

Adriana shook her head, glancing nervously at her other classmates. "Can we talk about this at lunch, please?"

"Yeah, sure," said Michael, nodding. Adriana was glad that he was leaving it alone. He understood. After he had come out of the coma, people were asking him questions all the time, and it made him especially angry because of the damage to his brain. It was good to finally have someone around who understood when you just wanted to be left alone.

As Adriana turned back around to face the front of the classroom, she saw Kyle walk through the door with one of his friends, his backpack casually slung over his left shoulder. When he entered, his eyes immediately locked with Adriana's, and they both smiled, the kind of smile you gave someone when they were the only person in the world who knew exactly what was on your mind.

"Hey," he said as he took his usual seat in front of her. "How's it going?"

"As good as can be expected," said Adriana, shrugging. She looked around, made sure no one was listening, and whispered, "Thanks again for last night. It really does mean everything to me."

Kyle grinned. "No problem. I'm sure you would've done the same for anybody." Adriana returned the smile as he continued. "How's the eye?"

"Well, it's been the topic of discussion everywhere I go," Adriana muttered.

"I know," said Kyle, rolling his eyes. "It's all anyone's been talking about. It's actually really annoying. Why can't people just mind their own business?"

"That's what I said." Adriana was so happy that he felt the same way about last night. There had been a small part of her that had thought that he might brag to everybody that he had knocked a guy out cold. But he wanted to keep everything as much on the down low as possible, just as she did. Why couldn't everybody in high school be like this?

"So, you haven't told anyone, right?" she asked, just wanting to make sure that her observations were correct.

"Of course not," he assured. "I didn't think it was a good idea. In fact, I don't think anybody knows that I was even a part of it."

Adriana smiled. "Good. It's less complicated that way."

"Chicos y chicas, sientense, por favor," Señora Garcia called from the front of the room. Everyone immediately found their seats. No one wanted to feel the wrath of Señora Garcia, especially in a language that they barely understood.

Kyle still hadn't turned around. "What do you have after this class?" he asked Adriana.

"Lunch," she said. "You?"

"History," he said. "Walk me to my class? I wanna talk to you about something."

"Kyle y Adriana, silencio, por favor," Señora Garcia scolded.

"Lo siento, Señora," they chorused, Kyle turning back around to face the front of the room.

As Señora Garcia started the lesson, Adriana ripped a piece of paper out of her binder and scribbled her answer to Kyle's question on it. She tapped him on the shoulder. He startled and turned around, accepting the piece of paper from her when she offered it to him. He opened it, read it, and smiled at her, turning around right after so that Señora Garcia wouldn't notice.

Adriana spent the rest of class daydreaming about the many things that Kyle could possibly want to talk to her about. The most obvious would be last night. Maybe he wanted to give her a Claudia-esque speech about how she shouldn't have gone down by the harbor in the first place. Maybe he had a Spanish question, but she hoped that wasn't what it was; while she currently had an A in Spanish, she didn't really understand the new material, and didn't want to come off as an even bigger idiot if he asked for her help. There was really only one other thing that he could want to talk to her about, and she spent the rest of class praying for it to happen.

Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Everybody (including Señora Garcia) made a mad rush for the door, eager to get out of the room. The only people who took their time were Adriana, Kyle, and Michael.

"Ready for lunch?" Michael asked Adriana, completely disregarding Kyle.

Adriana glanced at Kyle nervously before answering. "Uh, I'm gonna walk Kyle to his next class. Save me a seat?"

Michael nodded, looking between the two of them with suspicion. "Sure. I'll meet you down there."

"'Kay," said Adriana as he headed out the door, leaving her and Kyle alone.

"Which room are you in for history?" Adriana asked as Kyle finished putting his books in his bag, trying to break the ice.

"Room one-seventeen," said Kyle, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Near the gym. Ready?"

"Yeah," said Adriana, following him out into the hall.

"So, what do you think of Señora Garcia?" he asked her as they slowly traipsed towards the stairs, fighting the hallway's thinning crowds.

Adriana shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, she can be nice, but she's all over the place half the time. She always seems so frazzled. Remember the time she spent five whole minutes looking for her glasses when they were on top of her head?"

Kyle laughed. "Yeah, and then she almost gave us all detention for not telling her that they were there."

Adriana nodded. Was this what he really wanted to talk about? Their Spanish teacher? Her hopes sunk with the stairs as they descended them to the first floor.

"And then there was the time that she spent the entire class looking for our tests, and didn't find them until the bell rang," reminisced Kyle as they finally made it to the bottom of the stairs and started heading for the end of the hallway.

"Yeah," said Adriana glumly. She could have gotten to lunch early, but instead she was wasting her time and hope on this conversation.

They walked the rest of the way in an awkward silence, but Kyle stopped and turned around when they reached the door of his classroom. He couldn't stall anymore. The last time he had done it, Adriana had almost gotten killed. "Look, I didn't really want to talk to you about Señora Garcia," he admitted.

Adriana's ears perked up. Did this conversation just start going in the right direction?

Kyle put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels nervously. "I, uh, I wanted to ask you…you know, if you have time…every Thursday in the park, they have live music, and I was wondering if, maybe, you know, you'd wanna check it out?"

It took all of Adriana's self control not to let her jaw drop to the floor. She thought it had just been wishful thinking. Deep down, she didn't think Kyle would ask her out, not in a million years. But he just did, right here, in the middle of the hallway. A million years went by fast.

"I, uh, I-I would love to," she stammered, trying to get the words out without having a mental breakdown.

He grinned. "Cool. I'll pick you up, say, sevenish?"

Adriana nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"C'mon, Mr. Cabalo, class is starting," Kyle's teacher called from inside the room.

"I gotta go," he said to Adriana. "But I'll see you tonight."

"Awesome," said Adriana as he walked into the classroom. When the teacher finally closed the door, Adriana made her way to the cafeteria, trying her hardest not to skip.

*

"Hello?" asked Claudia, knocking on the half-open door of Adriana's room. She could hear Adriana singing along to a OneRepublic song on her iHome, and was curious as to what had put her daughter in such a good mood, especially after last night. She pushed the door open all the way to see Adriana standing in front of her mirror, straightening her long, brown hair out of its usual wave. Her uniform lay in a heap on the floor, and she was instead sporting a pink tank-top, skinny jeans, and black Converse's.

"Come in," said Adriana unnecessarily, seeing Claudia through her mirror.

"What are you getting all prettied up for?" Claudia asked, sitting on her bed.

"Nothing," Adriana said quickly. "Just going to the park to listen to some music. I'll be back by curfew, don't worry."

Claudia was still suspicious. "Who are you going to the park with?"

"You know," said Adriana with a shrug. "People."

"You are about as subtle as a freight train," said Claudia, hopping off the bed and standing next to her daughter at her mirror. "Kyle asked you out, didn't he?"

Adriana's face turned red, but she continued to straighten her hair, not daring to look her mother in the eye. "Maybe."

Claudia's mouth formed a huge smile at Adriana's answer. "I knew it! I'm so happy for you!"

"Don't get excited," said Adriana, ready to give her mother the same speech that she had given to Kristina earlier that day. "We're just going to the park to hear some music. It's not a big deal."

"Sometimes you are so pessimistic that I can't even stand it," said Claudia. "Why do you have to take the fun out of everything?"

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist," said Adriana, putting down her straightener down on her dresser. "Kyle wouldn't even know that I existed if it wasn't for last night. That's normally not the best sign in a developing relationship."

Claudia folded her arms over her chest defiantly. "Fine. I'll just be excited for the both of us. I can't wait to meet him."

Adriana grew tense with terror. "No!" Claudia was taken aback by her abruptness. Adriana tried to recover. "I mean, not tonight. Why make a big deal out of something that might not even happen?"

Claudia looked at Adriana suspiciously. "Are you saying you're embarrassed of me?"

"No," said Adriana simply. "I just don't want you to give him the third degree and scare him away."

"What makes you think I'd do that?" Claudia asked offended. Adriana just looked at her. Claudia got the message. "Okay, maybe I would." Adriana smiled, turning back to the mirror, making sure all of her scratches and scars were covered. The only thing she couldn't do anything about was her black eye, which stuck out like a giant neon sign on her face.

Claudia noticed Adriana's nervous face, and put a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll have fun."

Adriana turned to her. "You think so?"

"I know so," said Claudia.

Adriana looked back in the mirror, her brown eyes filled with worry. "What if he doesn't like me?"

Claudia frowned. "How could he not like you?"

Her daughter shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, he didn't notice me 'till last night."

"Don't worry about it," Claudia said again. "Just have fun."

*

"God, I am so sorry," said Kyle. He and Adriana had just left the little concert in the park, their ears still bleeding. "I heard good things about them. I didn't know they'd be that bad."

"Please, it's not your fault their drummer didn't have rhythm, the guitar was out of tune, and the bass's amp was giving awful feedback," said Adriana. "I mean, I don't know a lot about music, but that was not music." They were all the way on the other side of the park now, as far away as they could get from the concert on foot. Kyle had offered to drive Adriana home, but she wasn't quite ready to go home yet. It was only nine o'clock. She still had a couple hours.

"Still, this was my idea," said Kyle. "I didn't mean for it to turn out like this."

"Forget about it," Adriana said, waving away his apology.

"Wanna sit down?" he asked, indicating a bench. Adriana nodded and they both sat. Adriana tried not to think about how close they were as he continued. "Maybe it's for the best, you know? I mean, I don't really know that much about you, and I wouldn't be able to hear you over that band. So, tell me all about Adriana."

She laughed. "How much time do you have?"

"What time's your curfew again?"

"Eleven."

"Then I've got 'till ten forty-five."

Adriana smiled. God, he was so nice. Sincere. Honest. She had never met anyone like him before. "Well, you know my parents—my adopted parents—died last spring, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, that was hell. I mean, I lost both of them at the same time, and so…violently." Adriana couldn't believe that these words coming out of her mouth. She had never talked about last spring except with Claudia, Lainey, and occasionally Kristina. But here she was, on her very first date with Kyle, bearing her soul to him.

Kyle took her pause as a loss for words, so filled in the silence for her. "Yeah, I know what that's like—not both parents, but my mom. She was killed a couple years ago."

Adriana's jaw dropped. He had a dead parent, too? What were the odds? "Then you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "It's hell. Complete hell."

"How did she die?" asked Adriana, taking note of his use of the word "killed."

Kyle looked down at the ground. He never talked about his mother's death, not even with his dad. But Adriana knew what it was like. He stopped himself. No, that wasn't what mattered. He'd be getting closer to Adriana by talking about this; it was pure business. "She was, uh, shot, back when we lived in Queens."

Shot? Adriana knew exactly what he was going through. There was only one more thing that would possibly connect their stories. "Did they catch who did it?"

Kyle shook his head. "No. And they most likely won't, ever."

They could have been twins. "That's even worse, knowing that whoever's responsible is still out there, living a life, while someone innocent won't get another chance."

"Yeah," said Kyle. "I think about that every day."

So did Adriana. Not a day went by when she didn't look at the picture of her parents on her nightstand and feel a surge of hatred towards Sonny Corinthos go through her. She had never been an advocate for violence, but he was the exception. She vowed that if he ever showed his face in Port Charles again, she'd kill him with her bare hands. Kyle probably felt the same way about whoever shot his mother.

"So, it's just you and your dad, then?" she asked.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty quiet in the house. My dad owns a construction business, so he's not home a lot."

Adriana was about to say that her mother also owned a "business," but that was common knowledge. It was also something that she didn't like talking about. "Which one? I see signs up for construction all the time around here. I don't think I've ever seen a Cabalo Construction."

Kyle didn't skip a beat. "He doesn't do stuff around here. His business operates outside of Port Charles. He thinks it'll last longer if the mob doesn't get a hold of it."

Adriana didn't laugh, mostly because it was true. "So, do you think you'll go into construction?"

"Nah," said Kyle, shaking his head. "I'd rather be an architect. I'm better at stuff like that."

Somehow, Adriana could see how that was possible. "That's awesome."

Kyle grinned. "Thanks. Most people think it's girly."

Adriana scoffed. "No, it's not. If that's what most people say, than most people are stupid."

God, it was so hard to do this. She was being so nice to him, and here he was, with a hidden agenda, helping with his father's plan to dismantle her family's organization. But, he had to do it. Family came before everything. He'd get over it eventually.

"Is something wrong?" Adriana asked him.

"No," Kyle lied. "Sorry, I just kinda zoned out."

Zoned out? Was she boring him? Why the hell had she brought up last spring? It was the stupidest thing she could've done. She wished the band had been better, just so this wouldn't have happened. They could've had a normal first date instead of a heart-to-heart about their dead parents.

She was about to change the subject when she felt something miniscule and damp tap her on the head. She looked up. The sky was dark with clouds; a rainstorm was predicted to be coming, but Adriana hadn't thought that it would come this soon.

"I think it's gonna rain," she said unnecessarily.

Kyle looked up as well. "Yeah. Maybe I should take you home now?"

It was just as well. Adriana had been anticipating this so much, and it had turned out to be a total disaster. Hopefully he'd just forget about it and move on. It would be better for both of them; he wouldn't be bored and she wouldn't be humiliated.

"Okay," she said. As they both stood up, a crack of thunder was heard and the rain began, coming down in buckets on top of their heads. Adriana gave a girly shriek of laughter as she became soaked. Kyle took off his jacket and held it up above both of their heads as they ran back over to the other side of the park.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

"And then he told me about how he wanted to be an architect," Adriana mused. "And, you know, I can kind of see that. I mean, his dad owns a construction business, but he seems more of an artsy type than a builder. Not saying he's not masculine or anything, it's just—"

"Adriana, stop!" Kristina finally shouted. She had wanted to say those two words for the past fifteen minutes, but she hadn't wanted to come off as rude. Now, she was sick of it. All Adriana had talked about was Kyle. Kyle this, Kyle that—it was enough to drive anyone crazy. Kristina hadn't been able to get a word in throughout the entire lunch. Even Michael, who was learning to be more patient, had gone to the library to "finish some homework" within the first five minutes of Adriana's spiel. He was smart, Kristina thought to herself. He knew when to jump a sinking ship.

Adriana couldn't believe that Kristina had interrupted her. She was the one who had wanted Adriana to pursue her little crush on Kyle. Why wasn't she being that supportive now? Adriana let her rant about Kiefer all the time. Couldn't she let Adriana have the spotlight, just for once?

"You've been talking about Kyle for the entire lunch," complained Kristina. "Look, you haven't even touched your food." Adriana looked down at her tray, where her sandwich was still whole and her iced tea was still unopened. "I'm glad that you're really into him, but can't we talk about something else? Like the physics test. What did you get?"

Adriana sighed, not happy that Kristina had taken it upon herself to change the subject. "I got a ninety-four."

Kristina fumed internally. "Eighty-nine."

"That's not bad," said Adriana.

"It's not as good as yours," said Kristina.

Adriana hated when she did this. "Who cares? It's the beginning of the quarter. You'll have time to bring your grade up. Why are you always comparing our tests?"

"Because I'm used to being number one in the class," said Kristina. "I know that we're friends and everything, but I'm still jealous."

Adriana chuckled. "Jealous? Of me? News flash: my adopted parents are dead and my real mother is a mobster. What's there to be jealous of?"

"Not that," said Kristina. "I mean, how do you stay focused? You do so well in school, and you do soccer, and you have a job—"

"And now Kyle," Adriana finished for her, trying to get back on a topic that she was comfortable with.

"Can we not go back to that?" Kristina snapped. Adriana didn't say anything. Kristina composed herself and continued. "Look, I think what we need is a girls night. No studying, no work, no boys. Why don't we go see a movie? It's Old Movie Night at the Port Charles Theater. I think it's _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ this week."

Adriana had to admit that she could use a break. A movie sounded like the perfect idea. Two hours of someone else's problems. "Sure. What time?"

"Seven," said Kristina. "You're not busy, are you?"

"I have work 'till six-thirty, so why don't I meet you there?"

"Alright," said Kristina, glad that it was settled. She and Adriana hadn't gotten together for a non-school reason in quite some time. Maybe they wouldn't be as snappy if they just bonded a little bit.

Adriana was starving, from having talked through half of her lunch, so she went to work on her sandwich as Erin DiTrolio, goalie for the winter soccer team, sat down at the table.

"Hey Erin," said Kristina. Adriana nodded in acknowledgement, her mouth full of sandwich.

"Hey," said Erin, tucking a piece of her red hair behind her ear. She turned sharply to Adriana. "Where were you yesterday?"

Adriana frowned. "Where was I when?"

"Practice, remember?"

Damn, Adriana thought. She had been so distracted by her date with Kyle that she had completely forgotten that she had had practice. "What did D-Rock say?" D-Rock was the team's name for their coach, Mrs. DiRocco, when she wasn't in the vicinity. The name started because of her mannish, rock-hard muscles.

"She was pissed, obviously," said Erin. "You're captain. You're supposed to be at every practice unless it's an emergency. And if there is an emergency, you're supposed to tell her about it. Where were you?"

Adriana glanced at Kristina, who figured out her friend's guilt out on her own. Adriana looked back at Erin, ready to lie. "I had a ton of homework. I completely forgot about practice. I'll talk to D-Rock after school."

Erin shook her head. "We have an away game. We're leaving in the middle of eighth period. Don't you remember? Arch Bishop Carol? Any of this ringing any bells?"

Adriana could not believe how much she was forgetting. She had never skipped a soccer practice or game, even when she had had a bad cold a few weeks back. Soccer meant everything to her. How could she not remember things like this?

"I'll try and talk Lynam into letting me go early," said Adriana, referring to her English teacher. "But she doesn't like it when people leave early for sports and don't check with her a few days in advance."

"What are you talking about?" asked Erin. "You missed practice yesterday. You know the rules: no practice, no game."

What the hell was wrong with her? That was one of the most important rules that they had. Adriana had enforced it upon her other teammates numerous times. Now it was looking like she was trying to be an exception to the rule, which she wasn't.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Adriana. "I've been really distracted lately. I've had so much homework and tests—I know, that's no excuse," she said, reading the glare on Erin's face. "But I'll be at practice on Monday. I promise."

Erin looked at her with doubt. "Alright, you better. We're gonna be at a disadvantage without you; if we don't win against Arch Bishop Carol today and Merion Mercy on Tuesday, we'll lose our first-place spot. You can't forget anymore. I'm counting on soccer for college."

Great. Not only was Adriana responsible for herself, but also the future of her entire team, girls who dreamt of playing soccer in college. She could not and would not forget another practice or game until February, when the winter season was over.

"I promise," she said again. "Monday, I will be at practice."

"Good," said Erin. She turned to Kristina, said, "See you in calc," and flounced away.

Kristina turned to Adriana, not believing what she had just heard. "You? Forgetting soccer? Is the world about to end?"

"Shut up," said Adriana, not thinking it was funny at all.

"Sorry," said Kristina. The bell rang for the end of lunch. Adriana picked up her tray with her half-eaten sandwich and untouched iced tea and threw it all away in the garbage. She and Kristina grabbed their backpacks, said they're good-byes, and walked to their respective classes.

As Adriana walked down the history hallway, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Kyle falling into step beside her.

"Hey," she said, her face lightening up instantly.

"What's up?" he asked.

Adriana shrugged. "Oh, you know. The usual. Just on my way to history."

"Nice," said Kyle. They walked a few more steps in awkward silence before he said, "Look, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't know the band would be that awful. And I didn't mean to get all intense about my mom and everything."

Adriana shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I started that whole conversation. It was my fault."

"Well, whoever's fault it was," said Kyle, and Adriana smiled, "I wanna make it up to you. I know its last minute, but do you have any plans tonight?"

A second date? Adriana had counted her blessings for just having the first one. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I have a friend that goes to Malvern," he said, referring to an all-boys private school in the area. "It's the homecoming dance there tonight. He was gonna go with a date, but then his mom found his stash and he's been grounded for the rest of his life. But, on the bright side, he has two extra tickets and he offered them to me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. "Would you like to go?"

A dance? Adriana had never been to a dance with a boy. For her school's homecoming, she had just gone with all her friends. But now she had the chance to go with someone, someone she really liked. "Yeah, sounds awesome."

"I'll pick you up at your house, then? Seven, like last night?" he asked as they reached her classroom.

"Awesome," said Adriana, starting to go into her room.

"Wait!" Kyle called. She turned around. "It's a semiformal. Is that okay?"

A semiformal? She'd have to go the mall right after school to get a dress, but it would all work out. Anything to go to the dance with him. "Yeah, that's fine. Can't wait!"

He smiled. "Me neither."

*

"Whoa," said Adriana as they walked inside. She hadn't been expecting this. Her school's homecoming had been complete crap. For starters, it was in the cafeteria, which just wasn't sanitary. Also, the DJ was absolutely horrible. Half the songs he had played were either techno, with no words whatsoever, or just unknown to every single person in the school. But Malvern's was a step up. It was in their gym, which wasn't a ballroom, but it was better than a cafeteria. The main lights had been dimmed, with strobe lights and black lights spinning and shining throughout the room, the black lights giving anyone who wore white a bit of a glow. The DJ seemed pretty decent, because Adriana actually recognized the song he was playing.

"I know, right?" said Kyle, smiling. He was glad she was enjoying herself already. "You'd think our school would get some ideas from this."

"Well, maybe for the junior semiformal they'll step it up a bit," said Adriana, hoping that what she said was true. She glanced down at her hand, which was loosely interlaced with Kyle's. How had it gotten like that? She hadn't remembered him grabbing her hand.

Kyle looked her up and down, taking in her appearance. Her dress was strapless, short, and white with black polka-dots, which caused it to glow in the black lights. Her black heels added an inch and a half to her usual height of five foot one. Her brown hair, which reached the middle of her back, had been curled into small, perfect ringlets. Her eyes were covered in a shadowy make-up, and her lips glistened with pink gloss. "Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?"

Six times, Adriana thought to herself. Not that she was counting. "Thank you," she said graciously. "And you don't look so bad yourself." He was wearing a blue oxford shirt, pressed khakis, and a striped blue tie, the usual attire for semiformal dances.

"Thanks," he said, trying not to take it to heart. He glanced at the hundreds of kids already on the dance floor. It was still the awkward first half hour. Groups of girls huddled together, whispering and giggling to each other. Guys stood together as well, but didn't say a word as they each tried to work up their own nerve to ask their date to dance. A few dates stood together, not knowing what to do, and even fewer had actually started to dance. Half of these few were still a little nervous as they held each other at arms length, not making eye contact. But there were still the couples who dared to be the first to really get things going. Girls' backs were pressed into guys' chests, the guys wrapping their arms around the girls' waists and swaying to the beat. Just watching all this made Kyle nervous, and he wasn't sure which group he wanted to be a part of first. Well, they were already holding hands. What was the harm?

"Hey, you wanna dance?" he asked.

Adriana's face lit up like a Christmas tree. She had been wondering how long it would take. "Yeah! C'mon, let's go!" Hand in hand they walked to the dance floor, which was packed with standers and dancers alike. They faced each other, and there was one second where neither of them knew what to do. It was really up to Adriana; Kyle would be facing the same direction no matter what. But what should she do? It would be awkward to dance face-to-face, where they'd have to stare at each other the whole time. But did she know him well enough to grind with him? It only took that one second where their eyes locked to answer that question. She didn't even think as she turned her back towards him, leaned into him, and started to sway.

As the song went on, an unfamiliar feeling started to churn in her stomach. It felt like she had swallowed a bunch of butterflies, butterflies that continued flapping their tiny wings as hers and Kyle's hips moved side to side, in sync, like a marching band. Kyle had his hands wrapped tight around her stomach, holding the butterflies in. It was a strange feeling, but she liked it.

Kyle didn't know what to think, either. While nothing fluttered in his stomach, his head was reeling. He couldn't think straight. All he could do was keep moving to the beat of the drum, his chin resting lightly on Adriana's head, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. He didn't think he'd ever be able to let go. Anything his father had ever said to him went out the window. He was living in the moment, and what a moment it was.

It felt like forever that they swayed there. The only thing that changed was the amount of people. The dance floor got more and more packed as more people started to get the same idea. But neither of them noticed. They were in their own little world, oblivious to what was going on around them. Their body temperatures started rising, and even Adriana started to sweat a little, but they didn't care. In fact, they didn't land back in reality until the heat started to subside. They both felt it at the same time, and stopped swaying when they realized what was going on.

While everybody had been within centimeters of each other for most of the night, the crowd was starting to disperse. Teachers and other adult chaperones were making their way through the mob, separating and even kicking out some of the dancing couples. Adriana turned around for the first time that night to try and gauge from Kyle what they should do.

Kyle looked around. He'd rather leave on his own terms than be kicked out. He looked back at Adriana. "Let's get outta here."

Adriana nodded as they held hands, pushing their way past kids and teachers alike until they finally made it to the front door. They walked in silence to Kyle's car, which was parked at the far end of the parking lot. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a knowing silence; each of them was feeling the same thing.

When they reached Kyle's car, a blue four-door sedan, Adriana leaned against the passenger door while Kyle searched his pocket for his keys. Because of his haste and his sweaty palms, the key fell to the ground. Both Kyle and Adriana bent down to pick it up, their faces meeting inches from each other's as they kneeled on the pavement.

What happened next caught them both off guard. Adriana wasn't sure who leaned in first, but either way, she found her lips locking with Kyle's. Despite the surprise of it, neither of them backed away. Kyle, with his eyes closed, felt around on the ground for his keys, beeped open the door to his car and stood up, he and Adriana still kissing throughout it all. Adriana stood up with him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. She didn't want to stop. She just wanted the rest of the world to melt away as she and Kyle stood in their embrace.

Kyle was the first to pull away, and it made Adriana a little nervous. Had she done something wrong? She probably had, and now she'd have to endure that awkward car ride home with him. But she stopped doubting herself when she saw Kyle glance towards the school and then back at her, his thoughts passing to her through his eyes: they couldn't do this here.

He was right, Adriana thought to herself. They didn't need to get in trouble. She was about to turn around open her passenger door when Kyle reached around her and opened the door to the backseat. At first, she didn't understand. But then the light-bulb clicked and she crawled in, leaning against the door on the other side. Kyle followed her, closing the door behind him, and pressing himself right up against her and closing his lips over hers. Adriana wrapped her arms around his neck again as he ran his hands through her hair, the ringlets twirling around his fingers.

There was no coming back for either of them. They were in it for the long haul.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

It wasn't even time for homeroom yet, and Adriana still wanted school to be over. She and Kyle had made plans for that day, and the next day, and the next day—pretty much every day until they were sick of each other, which Adriana highly doubted would ever happen. Friday night had been amazing. She had never felt that way about anyone before. Her excitement showed on her face as she made her way to Kristina's locker. She couldn't wait to tell her friend about the dance and what had happened afterwards. She had called and texted her all weekend, but Kristina had remained unreachable. Adriana assumed that Alexis had taken her phone away because of the B that Kristina got on the physics test. It wouldn't be the first time that it had happened.

"Kris, guess what?" Adriana asked excitedly, when she reached her friend's locker. But Kristina didn't respond. She just continued moving her binders and books to her bag, completely ignoring Adriana's presence.

"Kristina," Adriana said, but she still didn't turn around. Adriana frowned. What was wrong with her? Why was she ignoring Adriana like this? She must have just been having one of her "days."

"Earth to Kristina," Adriana called, laughing a little. Kristina slammed her locker shut in response. Adriana and a few other people in the hallway jumped at the noise. Some students gave her annoyed looks; it was too early in the morning to be making such a commotion.

"What are you so pissy about?" Adriana asked, still with a little smile on her face.

Kristina wasn't as happy. She whipped around and stared Adriana right in the eye. "You have got to be kidding me."

"About what?" Adriana asked. Kristina didn't answer. She hiked her backpack up on her shoulder and began to stalk down the hallway. Adriana followed her, trying to keep up with her friend's brisk and angry pace. "Kristina, what's going on?"

"I waited in front of the movies for half an hour," said Kristina, and Adriana immediately realized what she had done. In her excitement to go to the dance with Kyle, she had completely forgotten about her plans with Kristina. She hadn't called to cancel or anything. Now she understood why Kristina was so pissed. "When you didn't show, I went in, thinking you got held up at work or something. I watched the entire movie by myself. Have you ever been to the movies by yourself? Do you know how embarrassing it is? I looked like a total loser! I should've just gone with my mom and Molly, for God's sakes!"

"Kristina, I am so sorry," said Adriana, meaning it. "I didn't mean to forget that we made plans. I just kinda…you know—I got distracted."

Kristina let her breath out in an angry huff. "By what?"

She wasn't going to like this. "Kyle caught me off guard with these last-minute tickets to the Malvern homecoming," Adriana started. Kristina rolled her eyes the second she heard Kyle's name. "I really wanted to go. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry!"

"First you ditch your team for Kyle, now me?" Kristina scoffed. "Some friend you are." She started to walk away, but Adriana caught up with her, stopping her.

"I didn't mean to ditch you," she said. "It's just—I like him a lot, Kris. I don't know how to explain it. I mean…when he's around, I can't think, you know? I know it sounds stupid—"

"Real stupid."

"But I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Adriana said, trying to cover. "Aren't you that way with Kiefer? Don't you ever feel so attracted to him that you just can't think?"

"No," said Kristina simply, "because I'm a normal person. This thing you have with Kyle is being blown way out of proportion. You have a crush on him and you guys went on, what, two dates? I don't get it."

"Well, it's kind of more than a crush now," said Adriana cryptically.

Kristina's eyes narrowed. She did not like where this was going. "What happened?"

"Well, we went to the dance," Adriana started nervously. She had been so excited to tell Kristina earlier; now, she wanted nothing more than to keep it to herself. "And, it was kind of awkward at first, but then we started dancing, and then, you know, things happened—"

"What kind of things?" Kristina asked, almost wishing she hadn't.

"Well, they were getting strict about the dancing, and they were actually starting to kick people out, so Kyle and I just left because we didn't want the shame of actually being forced to leave—"

"Just spit it out," Kristina snapped.

Adriana picked at her cuticles nervously. She couldn't keep beating around the bush. She had started the conversation. She had to finish it. She took a deep breath and said her next sentence in a rush. "We made out with each other in the back of his car for about forty-five minutes."

Kristina just stood there, gaping. "Forty-five minutes?"

"Give or take," said Adriana, knowing the joke was futile.

Kristina didn't even know where to begin with her rage. "So you were getting it on in the backseat of some senior's car while I sat at the movies alone?"

"Shh!" hushed Adriana. She didn't want the whole school to know. "And we weren't getting it on! We didn't go past second base."

Kristina couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Second base? You barely know the guy!"

"You are not one to judge," Adriana scoffed. "It's not like I had sex with him."

"Do not turn this around on me!" Kristina spat in a whisper. "I cannot believe you did that!"

"You're the one who wanted this whole thing to happen," Adriana accused. "Why do you hate it so much now?"

"Because I thought it would make you happy," argued Kristina. "And I guess it does, but now it seems like you don't even have time for other things, like soccer and your friends. I don't let Kiefer get in the way of the rest of my life."

Why didn't she understand? "Kyle is not getting in the way of anything. I forgot we were gonna hang out, and I'm sorry, but I have so much going on that I probably would've forgotten anyway."

Kristina shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have. And you wouldn't have forgotten that soccer game that you had last week."

"One game," sighed Adriana, frustrated. "Can't we let it go?"

"What are your plans for this week?" Kristina asked, ignoring Adriana's question.

Adriana bit her bottom lip nervously. "Well, this afternoon, Kyle's coming over to study for Spanish, and tomorrow we're going to the movies, and Wednesday I think we're gonna go to the mall—"

"See what I mean?" said Kristina. "All of your plans involve Kyle. He is taking over your life!"

"No he's not!" Adriana retorted. "And it's really none of your business, anyway!"

"You're right, it's not!" Kristina shouted back. Other people in the hallway were starting to stare. "Because I'm not friends with you anymore!"

Adriana gasped. Over this little thing? Why was Kristina being such a drama queen? "Just because I forgot we had plans?"

"No," said Kristina. "Because I don't know who you are anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"You always made time for the important things in your life," said Kristina. "School, friends, soccer, work. Now it seems like your entire life is starting to revolve around Kyle, and that's not you. You don't even care that you forgot about the movie!"

"I said I was sorry!" said Adriana. Why was Kristina being so stupid?

"Yeah, but you didn't mean it," retorted Kristina. "All you care about is Kyle."

"Shut up!" Adriana shouted back. "Don't act like you know me, 'cause you don't. You don't know the hell that I've been through this past year. I am trying to turn my life around, and if that means that Kyle's a part of it, I am not going to complain. But just because I'm trying to turn over a new leaf doesn't mean that my life revolves around you. You're not the center of everyone's universe. Get used to it."

Kristina just stared at her. Adriana had never said anything that awful about anybody, even people that she didn't care for very much. Despite everything, she had always tried to stay positive. And Kristina was her friend, and she didn't think she deserved to be treated this way. She didn't want to be friends with someone who was so self-centered.

Kristina didn't know how to respond, but she didn't have to; the bell signaling five minutes until homeroom rang throughout the hall. "I have to go," she snapped curtly, shoving past Adriana without apologizing. Adriana just watched her go. Kristina was being such a little bitch. When was she going to realize that not everyone could be as perfect as her, that people forgot things once in awhile? Adriana admitted she had been a little harsh, but Kristina deserved it. Adriana wasn't a different person; Kristina just had a low tolerance for other human beings.

Besides, who needed her? Adriana had other friends, and now Kyle. Kristina wasn't the only person in her life. She'd be able to deal without her.

*

"I hate Spanish," Adriana moaned. Kyle sat at the foot of her bed, his textbook open and his tie loosened. Adriana laid on her stomach, also staring at her textbook and rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Doesn't everybody?" Kyle asked. Then he realized something. "Don't you have an A in Spanish?"

"I also have an A in physics, but that doesn't mean I like it," Adriana snapped. But it wasn't Spanish that was bothering her. She couldn't stop thinking about her fight with Kristina. Deep down, despite her "I don't need her" attitude, Adriana had hoped that their argument had just been a little thing, something that would be resolved by lunch. It wasn't. One look from Kristina from across the cafeteria was enough to tell Adriana that she should go to the library and work on some homework and not press the issue. Michael wasn't talking to her, either. She wasn't surprised; he would never take her side over his own sister's. But still, he didn't understand that Adriana was right and Kristina was wrong. He hadn't even let her explain herself. But whatever. Adriana didn't need either of them. She had other friends. Like Kyle. Except he was a little bit more than a friend.

"Okay, let's just take this one step at a time," he said calmly. Adriana smiled at him. He was always so laid back. He didn't seem to get stressed out about anything. His chillness was contagious, and it helped her forget about her other issues.

She was so pretty when she smiled, Kyle thought, then tried to shake it away. He had to focus. Friday night had been confusing. He was definitely getting somewhere with his father's plan; hell, he was just a floor away from the inner workings of the Zacchara organization. But no business had been on his mind that night.

"What's the first step?" Adriana asked.

Her eyes were so beautiful. Big, brown, full of spark and warmth. What would she do when she found out the real reason he had saved her last week, when she realized that he had asked her out for pure business purposes? She'd hate him, definitely, but it wouldn't really matter. Either Kyle and his father or she and Claudia would no longer be in Port Charles, and it was on Kyle's shoulders to decide what would happen.

"Kyle," Adriana said loudly, grabbing his attention back.

"Sorry," he said, looking down at his book. Focus, he told himself. Focus. "Where were we?"

"Preterit verbs," said Adriana. "I mean, I get the normal conjugation, but then she throws these irregulars in there and I get completely lost. Why can't this just be easy?"

Kyle was asking himself the same question, but it had nothing to do with Spanish. "If it was easy, it wouldn't have a point."

"You sound like Señora Garcia," Adriana said with a smile. "She's always like, 'Chicos y chicas, el examen va a ser muy difícil.'"

Kyle laughed. "You sound just like her."

"She gets on my nerves," complained Adriana. "I mean, none of us are going to use Spanish in real life."

"You are just trying to stall so that you don't actually have to learn anything," Kyle observed.

"What's your point?" Adriana deadpanned.

"Just come here," said Kyle, beckoning her over. Adriana pushed herself up into a sitting position and joined him at the foot of her bed. She sat right beside him, resting her chin on his shoulder as he pointed things out in the textbook.

"It's really not that hard," he said. "Look. All the ones that have c's in them, like decir, conducir—they all change to j's, see?"

Adriana couldn't pay attention. She made a mental note to never study with someone that she was attracted to. Just his presence, his physical being, made it hard to focus on the task at hand. She looked up at him as he tried to explain the Spanish to her. He was so smart. How did he pick up this stuff so easily? The only way she got an A in Spanish was from studying her ass off.

Kyle looked at her and smiled. "Are you even paying attention?"

Adriana shook her head. "No."

"Well, at least you're honest," he muttered, and she laughed.

"Okay, then I'll be honest some more," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I don't really want to study Spanish."

"Well, if we're being honest," he said, "I don't really want to study, either." He put the book down on the bed and placed his lips to hers, kissing her softly as he pulled her closer. Adriana felt the familiar butterflies flutter in her stomach, and kissed him back. His weight pressed into hers, forcing her back on to her bed, where she pulled him even closer. It wasn't even a minute before they were interrupted.

"Sweet Jesus, what the hell are you doing?" Both Adriana and Kyle jumped at the sound of Claudia's voice as she stood in the doorway, the originally closed door now wide open. She had taken a little break from work to come upstairs and check on Adriana, but she hadn't gotten what she had been expecting.

"Oh, hey," said Adriana, blushing profusely. She realized that Kyle was still on top of her, so she shoved him off, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face. Claudia had been so quiet that she hadn't even heard the door open. Now she knew she was in for it.

"Don't 'hey' me," snapped Claudia, looking between the two of them. She didn't know whether to be mad, apologetic, or ignorant. Right now, though, she felt mad would be the best approach. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Kyle came over to study," said Adriana, glancing at him before turning her eyes back to Claudia's. "I was going to tell you, but the office door was closed and I didn't want to bother you."

"It didn't look like studying to me," said Claudia, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Zacchara," said Kyle, standing up. Adriana looked at him. He was actually going to approach Claudia. Was he crazy? "It was my fault."

Claudia looked him up and down. He was a textbook definition of a Port Charles citizen: preppy, obviously wealthy, and too polite to be trusted. "And you are?"

"Oh, I apologize," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm Kyle Cabalo. It's nice to meet you."

Claudia looked at the hand, but didn't shake it. "Yeah, okay. And what are you doing in my daughter's room, without my permission, with the door closed?"

"Look, lay off, okay?" Adriana snapped, walking towards her mother. She knew this would happen when Claudia and Kyle finally met. She didn't think Claudia would approve of anyone that she was dating, especially if her first impression of them was what she just saw. "Kyle just came over to study, and we only closed the door so we wouldn't be distracted. Calm down."

Claudia looked at both of them, suspicious. "Hmm," she said thoughtfully. Adriana braced herself for the blow. Kyle would probably have to leave and she wouldn't be able to ever leave the house again. Why did she even bring him to her house in the first place? It was a stupid idea.

"Can't he just stay?" Adriana pleaded. "We won't do anything. We promise."

Before Claudia could even answer, Kyle stepped in, seeing a perfect opportunity. "You know what, I should probably leave anyway. I have other homework to do." Adriana just stared at him. He was letting Claudia get the better of him? She knew this would happen. She knew Claudia would scare him away.

"Do you really have to go?" she asked, her question sounding more desperate than she had wanted.

"I'll call you, don't worry," he said, smiling. Claudia looked on with disgust as he grabbed his backpack from her daughter's bed, gave Adriana a quick kiss on the lips, and headed for the door.

"Sorry to have upset you, Ms. Zacchara," he said as he passed Claudia. He turned back to Adriana. "See ya." Adriana smiled as he walked away. Claudia, however, was not in as good of a mood.

"Are you kidding me?" she spat.

Adriana felt her cheeks turn red. She should have known how much Claudia would hate this. It was a good thing that Friday night still hadn't been mentioned.

"What do you want me to say?" Adriana asked. "We didn't do anything wrong. He came over to study, and we got a little…distracted."

"Was it really necessary to close the door?" Claudia snapped. She could not believe that this type of behavior was coming from Adriana. She had such a good head on her shoulders. This whole thing with Kyle was just not who she was.

"I'm sorry," said Adriana, meaning it. "It was my fault. I wasn't thinking."

Claudia glared at her, still suspicious. "You're not telling me something."

Actually, she would have to be more specific, Adriana thought to herself. There was Friday night, her fight with Kristina, forgetting last week's game—

"What happened Friday night?" Claudia asked.

Damn, thought Adriana. She was good. "What are you talking about?"

"You came home really giddy that night," said Claudia, staring her daughter right in the eye. "Were you drinking?"

Adriana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What? No! C'mon, you know that's not who I am!"

Claudia held up her hands defensively. "I am just a concerned parent. You seem really into this guy. A little too much, actually." A horrible thought ran through her head. "You didn't have sex with him, did you?"

Adriana would have laughed if the conversation wasn't so serious. "God, no! We've only been going out for, like, five days!"

"I think we need to have a talk," said Claudia, moving over to Adriana's bed to sit down.

At the word "talk," Adriana gagged. When you were her age, and your mother said that you "needed to have a talk," it could only mean one thing. "We don't have to have 'a talk,'" she groaned.

"Look, I'm serious," insisted Claudia. Adriana had never been this defiant with her before. "I just—I want you to be careful, okay? Can you just do that? Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid?"

Adriana folded her arms. "I won't do anything stupid, I promise. What gave you that idea?"

"Nothing," said Claudia calmly. "It's just…I know what it's like to have a first 'real' boyfriend and how exciting it can be and sometimes…sometimes you make stupid choices. And I don't want that to happen to you. You're smart, and you're sensible, and you know what goes on inside your own head, but I feel like it's my job to remind you that there's a lot of stuff out there, and I just don't want you to get all caught up in it."

Adriana flounced over to her bed, sitting down next to Claudia. "You don't need to worry about me. I have a good feeling about Kyle. I know you didn't like what you just walked in on—"

"Yeah, about that," said Claudia, interrupting her. "I don't wanna have to walk in on something like that again. Okay?"

No problem, Adriana thought to herself. Kyle isn't coming over here ever again if you don't start acting more pleasant towards him, which you won't. "Don't worry. It won't happen again."

*

He was there. He couldn't believe it. Less than a week and he already had an in. It couldn't have worked out better if he had planned it himself.

Instead of just leaving after practically being kicked out of the house by Claudia, Kyle turned in the other direction at the bottom of the stairs, heading towards the now-vacant office. The door was open halfway; Kyle peeked around it, just to make sure he was safe. The room was empty. He took one step in, his ears perked for any sound of Claudia or Adriana coming down the stairs. He didn't hear anything. Perfect.

He silently treaded into the office, heading for the desk, which was covered haphazardly with papers of all kinds. He glanced over them, trying to decipher the important ones from the junk. He saw many that looked promising, and snatched them up quickly and quietly, stuffing them into his backpack.

Even though his father would be proud of his find, Kyle knew that this was just the beginning.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

"Ugh, forget it," Adriana said for the millionth time. She and Kyle walked hand-in-hand to his statistics class. It was all the way up the stairs and across the building from her English room, but Mrs. Lynam wouldn't kill her for being a couple minutes late. Well, she would, but she'd have to bring her back eventually, because then there would be an odd number of students in the class, and Lord knew how much Mrs. Lynam hated odd numbers, among other things.

"I feel terrible," said Kyle, not really meaning it. Why should he? He and Adriana hadn't been doing anything wrong, at least not together. Claudia had to learn how to keep her nose out of other people's business. It was making things harder than they already were. Manny was happy, though. Kyle's find had put him a step ahead of the Zaccharas. They wouldn't know what hit them.

Adriana was sick of him apologizing. He shouldn't have to worry about Claudia and her annoyingly overprotective self. It was her room; since when did Claudia have the right to barge in at her leisure? Adriana had talked to her about respecting privacy, but it probably went in one ear and out the other. Adriana would have to invest in a lock on her door, but that would probably make Claudia angry, which was worse than her being ignorant of other people's space.

"Don't feel terrible," implored Adriana. "Claudia just needs to learn to mind her own business."

"She's just being a mom, that's all," said Kyle as they pushed their way past other students to his classroom, their hands never separating. "But I wouldn't mind if we didn't hang out at your house again. Honestly, she kinda scares me."

"Of course she does. She's a scary person." It was true. Until Kyle came along, Adriana had never had the guts to stand up against Claudia's pushiness. She had an edge about her that read "Do Not Cross Me" in big, bold letters. But Adriana was an adult. Well, almost. She refused to be treated like a five-year-old by someone who barely knew her.

"So, I'm assuming I can un-invite myself from Thanksgiving?" Kyle asked, speaking of the holiday that was a mere two days away.

Adriana blushed. "Well, you were never really invited. I didn't tell Claudia that you might come by, and after yesterday, I don't think she'll be too happy about it."

Kyle laughed. "Good. 'Cause if I came, it would probably be more awkward than the Thanksgiving I'd have with my dad."

Now Adriana felt guilty. "Are you sure it'll be okay if you don't come? I don't want you to be unhappy on Thanksgiving."

Kyle shook his head. "Nah, it'll be fine. I'll survive dinner. Maybe we can go out afterwards, though? The ice rink'll be open 'till ten."

Adriana smiled. "Sounds like a great idea. I'll probably be dying to get out of the house."

"Who's all coming to your Thanksgiving?" he asked.

"Well, it'll be me and Claudia, then my uncle, Johnny, and surprisingly, Claudia extended the invitation to his girlfriend."

Kyle was puzzled. "His girlfriend? Doesn't your mom—?"

"Yes," said Adriana, answering the question before he asked it. "With a burning passion. But, it's Thanksgiving. Johnny begged her to let Olivia come, something about wanting to spend Thanksgiving with both his girlfriend and his family. Claudia can be nice for a few hours. Well, if she really tries."

The flow of traffic in the hallway was becoming thinner as the break between classes got shorter and shorter. Kids rushed and shoved past each other, not needing the hassle of being written up because of something as trivial as a bell. Adriana and Kyle were a few classrooms down from his when someone shouted her name from behind them.

"Brown!" D-Rock barked, making her way towards the couple. Adriana froze, mortified. She prayed that the few people still in the hallway hadn't heard the shout, but they did, turning in her's and Kyle's direction as D-Rock finally stopped in front of them.

"What's up, Mrs. D?" said Kyle, unaffected by the embarrassment that Adriana had been plagued with.

D-Rock glared at him. "Get to class, Cabalo," she snapped.

Kyle, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Mrs. DiRocco's wrath, obeyed. "Sure thing, Mrs. D," he said, then turned to Adriana. "Meet me by my car after school?"

"Yeah," said Adriana, smiling and forgetting that D-Rock was still standing there. "What movie did we want to see tonight?"

"I don't care," said Kyle, shrugging his shoulders. "What did you wanna see?"

"Anything but _New Moon_," said Adriana, and Kyle smiled.

"Of course," he said. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, said, "Check ya later, Mrs. D," and made his way to his classroom.

Adriana turned to her soccer coach, the feeling of dread resettling itself in her stomach. D-Rock was a great coach, but she was also extremely scary and strong, making it a fatal move to get on her bad side. Unfortunately, Adriana feared that that was where she was.

"What's up, coach?" she asked, then mentally kicked herself for being so informal when it was obvious that she was in trouble.

D-Rock couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me? I'd love to hear an explanation for why you've skipped two practices in a row."

Adriana just wanted to turn invisible. She hadn't kept her promise to Erin to show up to yesterday's practice, which meant that she wouldn't be able to play in today's game. She hadn't given her teammates or her coach an explanation for her absence. In a nutshell, she was screwed.

D-Rock took Adriana's silence as a sign of defeat. "I think I can take a guess. It's Cabalo, isn't it?"

Damn, thought Adriana. Was everybody a mind-reader, or was her infatuation with Kyle completely obvious to anybody who happened to see them together? "Well, not completely, it's just—"

"I don't want excuses," said D-Rock, cutting her off. "You know how much I hate excuses. I just want the truth."

Adriana twirled at her necklace, her palms sweaty. She had never had a more awkward conversation with a teacher. She didn't think she should have to discuss her personal business with her soccer coach. But D-Rock could smell a liar a mile away. "Yes. Kyle's been somewhat of a…distraction lately."

D-Rock rolled her eyes. "I cannot believe this. I gave you the captain spot because I thought you were responsible. I thought you cared about your team. We were crushed on Friday against Arch Bishop Carol, and today probably won't be much better. You let your team down. I hope you know that."

Adriana was saved from responding by the bell. "I'm gonna be late—"

"I'll write you a pass."

Adriana grinded her teeth together in frustration. "So, what're you gonna do?"

D-Rock snorted. "Uh, what do you think? I'm kicking you off the team."

Adriana's mouth gaped open in complete shock. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope," said D-Rock, and Adriana could tell by her tone that she was completely serious. "You abused the position of captain, and I'm not gonna take it. Clean out your locker by the end of the day. Wash your jersey and give it to me on Monday after break." She started to walk away, but Adriana called her back.

"You can't be serious."

D-Rock just stared at her. "The team took a vote. You're done." And with that, she stalked away, leaving Adriana to her own angry and puzzled thoughts.

Some team she had, voting her off for missing a couple of practices. People had forgotten practices before. So, what, because she was captain, she had to be perfect? And how could D-Rock let it happen? How could she let the team just vote off their captain like it was an easily replaceable job? Didn't they understand how much work and dedication it took? Did they all think that they could a better job? Adriana hoped that they would lose every single game for the rest of the season. Then they'd see the mistake they made.

She remembered that D-Rock hadn't written her the promised pass, so she started speed-walking to English, her bad mood dominating every step. She even felt her eyes grow wet with anger when she reached the stairs. Soccer had meant everything to her. It had given her a way to fit into her new school, an opportunity to make friends and forget about last spring. Now all of that had been taken from her by people who didn't understand her life, didn't know what went on in her head.

She was almost to her English room when she stopped dead in the hallway. She didn't want to go to English. Kristina was there; she didn't think she could take her dirty looks. Just one would probably make her explode. And she didn't want to endure Lynam's fifteen minute rant on the importance of not being late, go down to the principal's office, and hear the same rant again. She just wanted to leave, get out of this hell-hole before she had a breakdown. Only one problem: she didn't have a ride. The buses wouldn't start coming for another half an hour, and she didn't want to get in trouble for hanging in the hallways when she was supposed to be in class.

Actually, she did have a ride, but he was sitting in his statistics class. But maybe he could use a jumpstart on break as well. She pulled out her phone and texted "make an excuse 2 get out of class. need 2 get out of here. tell u in the car."

*

Adriana looked at her jersey one last time before she put it in her backpack. She would not do the next number thirty the service of washing it. It was her own way of enacting her spite.

She sat on her bed, the jersey laid out in front of her. The back was facing upwards, showing her lucky number, a white thirty against maroon. She had earned this jersey, and now she was forced to give it back over something as insignificant as missing a couple of practices.

She thought back to her afternoon. Kyle had let her cry her eyes out in the middle of the senior lot until the final bell rang and kids started pouring out of the building. At that point, he took her to go see _Ninja Assassin_, where her problems were pushed to the back of her mind while the two of them made out in the last row of the theatre. He had then taken her out for pizza and driven her home. Neither of them really cared that they'd both get written up for cutting on Monday.

She heard her doorknob turn and saw Claudia peek her head in. Adriana quickly rolled up her jersey and threw it on the ground next to her backpack.

"What's up?" she asked. She didn't want Claudia to know about her removal from the soccer team, because that would require an explanation that she didn't want to give.

"Uh, nothing," said Claudia. She noticed Adriana not meeting her eye. "Something wrong?"

"What? No," said Adriana quickly. "Just a long day."

"Wanna talk about it?" Claudia asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Adriana pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them. "Nothing to talk about, really. Just teachers trying to cram in a bunch of crap before break."

"Oh," said Claudia. There was definitely something more to it, but a voice in her head told her not to press it. She was going to try and respect Adriana's privacy a little better. "I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Adriana braced herself. Had the school called home to report her cutting? Did D-Rock call about her being kicked off the team? "What about?"

"Have you gone in my office lately?" Claudia asked, getting right to it.

Adriana frowned, confused. "No. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," assured Claudia. "It's just…stuff's been going missing. Today I went down there and there were files and stuff that had just disappeared. I didn't know if you had taken them for one reason or another—"

"Why would I take them?" Adriana asked.

Claudia shrugged. "I don't know. Do you have a school project on organized crime?"

Adriana laughed. "No."

"I know, I'm kidding," said Claudia laughing as well. But her tone turned serious very quickly. "Could you do something for me, though? Don't go in there anymore, especially when you have friends over? I don't think you took anything, but I just don't want anyone in there who isn't supposed to be. Okay?"

"Sure," said Adriana, nodding. "No problem."

"It's probably nothing," Claudia said, reassuring herself more than Adriana. "I probably just misplaced some stuff. But I would really appreciate it if you just didn't go in anymore."

"Like I said, no problem."

Claudia stood up. "Alright. That's all I wanted to talk to you about. Spaghetti okay for dinner?"

Adriana nodded. "Sounds good."

"Okay, it'll be ready soon," said Claudia. She left Adriana's room, closing the door behind her and pondering the mystery of the missing papers. If Adriana hadn't taken them, then who did?


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

They had all barely sat down to dinner when the sniping started. At first, Adriana thought that Claudia might be able to keep her cool, at least for the couple of hours that Olivia was there. But there was no such luck.

Technically, it had sort of been Adriana's fault, though not completely. She had just forgotten that she was in the same room with two women who didn't know how to mind their own business. That, and Kyle had chosen a very bad time to text her.

The seeds of the argument had been planted earlier in the day, when Claudia and Adriana had started the adventure of preparing a Thanksgiving feast for four, albeit four hungry, people. Claudia had dragged Adriana out of bed at what felt like the crack of dawn to help her with the cooking. Both of them were extremely grumpy; Claudia didn't want to spend her day cooking for someone that she didn't like very much, and Adriana had stayed up until two in the morning, talking to Kyle on the phone. So, between Claudia's griping and Adriana's lack of attention span, it was a miracle that the house didn't burn down.

The conversation, which had been meaningless words and complaints for most of the morning, turned ugly fast. Claudia was angrily stuffing the turkey, throttling the poor bird so hard that it was probably grateful that it was already dead. Adriana rolled out the dough for the crust of the pumpkin pie, yawning every five seconds and rubbing her eyes when Claudia wasn't looking. The Macy's Day Parade played on a low volume in the background. Claudia had just finished calling Olivia every obscene and demeaning word she could think of when Adriana felt her phone vibrate in her sweatshirt pocket. She put down the rolling pin, wiped her flowery hands on a dishcloth, and pulled the phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open to see that Kyle had sent her a text message. She was about to read it when her phone was snatched out of her hand. She looked up to see Claudia glaring at her, and she suddenly felt empathy for the turkey.

"What's your deal?" she asked.

Claudia's nostrils flared in anger. Didn't Adriana understand that she was pissed off enough? "Do you really have to be texting your boyfriend now?"

"Why does it matter?" Adriana asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Johnny and Olivia won't be here for hours. A quick text won't put us behind schedule."

"A quick text?" Claudia questioned. "You were talking to that kid for hours last night. I seriously doubt that any sort of communication between the two of you is quick."

"Were you listening to my conversation?" Adriana asked, appalled. Claudia may not have any respect for privacy, but this was taking things too far.

Claudia snorted. "Listening? I didn't have to listen. I could hear you laughing all the way down the hall. It was a wonder I got any sleep last night!"

Oops, thought Adriana. She hadn't realized that she had been so loud. "Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up."

Claudia glared at her suspiciously, putting the confiscated phone down on the kitchen counter. "You haven't meant to do a lot of things lately, and they happen anyway. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Well, since you poke your nose in my business all the time, you should be able to find out for yourself, Adriana thought. "Come on," she said, trying to change the subject. "It's Thanksgiving. What's with all this hostility?"

Claudia let out her breath in a huff. "You'd be hostile if you had to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner for Olivia Falconeri," she snapped, going back to the turkey.

"I am cooking an entire dinner for Olivia Falconeri," Adriana corrected her as Claudia shoved the turkey into the oven with the same amount of force one would apply when boxing. "Or did the mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce just make themselves?"

"Do not start with me," said Claudia, pressing the appropriate buttons on the oven so that the turkey would begin to cook. "I just need to get through today, and I'd like to do it as calmly as possible."

"Why are we even doing this?" Adriana asked, sitting down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. "There's only gonna be four of us. We won't eat all of this. Besides, you don't like Olivia, so why go through the trouble of a homemade meal?"

"Because," said Claudia, sitting down next to Adriana, "I don't need her complaining about how much better the food is in her precious Bensonhurst. She's gonna like what I cook, damn it, even if it kills her."

"And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too," said Adriana, sarcastically cheery.

Claudia ignored her, standing up and heading for the kitchen door.

"Where're you going?" Adriana asked her.

"I need a drink," said Claudia.

Adriana gaped at her. "It's not even noon."

"It's five o'clock somewhere," said Claudia, and left without another word.

The rest of the morning and afternoon went smoothly. Adriana finished her pie, while Claudia took the world's longest bubble bath. They each tried to stay out of each other's way, hoping to keep the tension to a minimum for when Johnny and Olivia arrived. Their hopes were completely wasted.

Adriana had never had a dinner where every single person at the table was completely silent, unhappy about something or other and trying their best not to explode. Adriana sat right next to Claudia, who was stabbing at her food so viscously that Adriana thought she was going to break the plate. Across from Claudia was Johnny, who ate with his head resting in one hand as he beat himself up for even suggesting that Claudia and Olivia could coexist. Olivia sat next to him, wondering why she had listened to her boyfriend in the first place.

Most of the dinner went by in complete and utter silence, until Adriana's phone vibrated in the pocket of her jeans. Their tightness enhanced the sound so that the entire table could hear it, but everybody chose to ignore it. Everybody, that is, except Adriana. The one vibrate signaled a text message. The only person who would ever text her right now would be Kyle. The soccer team had completely excommunicated her, and Kristina and Michael had been pretending that she didn't exist. What should she do? She knew it was rude to text at the table, but she really wanted to respond. What if Kyle thought she was ignoring him? Adriana snuck a peek at Claudia. She was focused on violently trying to cut a particular piece of meat. She had been so mad when Kyle had texted Adriana the first time. But if Adriana could just text Kyle back and tell him it was a bad time without Claudia noticing, it would all be okay.

No sooner had Adriana pulled out her phone when she heard the sound of silverware drop next to her. She braced herself for the blow that she was about to receive.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Claudia asked in a deadly whisper.

Make up an excuse, Adriana told herself, but then thought for a second. Why should she have to explain herself? It was her phone, and she could text whoever she wanted whenever she wanted. Besides, it wasn't like there was any conversation going on at the table. Claudia had absolutely nothing to be mad at her about. "Texting Kyle," she said. She looked Claudia in the eye. "Got a problem with it?"

Claudia could not believe the words that were coming out of Adriana's mouth. Never had she ever spoken so rudely to her. "Uh, yeah, I do," she said. "We're at dinner."

Adriana's eyebrows came together in confusion. "It's not like anybody's talking anyway." Johnny and Olivia exchanged a glance. Things were about to get tense and awkward.

"It's still rude," said Claudia. She didn't care that Johnny and Olivia were here. If Adriana wanted a fight, she'd get one.

"You know what else is rude?" Adriana questioned, her voice rising. "Walking into someone's room without knocking. And yet, you do it anyway."

Johnny gave a snort, and Claudia shot him the dirtiest look he had ever seen. While he knew he deserved it, he couldn't help thinking that what Adriana said was true.

"That's called parenting," corrected Claudia. "And when you and your boyfriend are making out on your bed, it's extremely necessary."

"Oh, please, like you have the right to lecture me about something like that," scoffed Adriana.

Johnny saw Claudia start to rise, and beat her to the punch. "Okay, guys, that's enough," he warned, and Claudia sat back in her seat. Adriana folded her arms defiantly, glaring at her mother. Olivia just sat there and took it all in. Maybe Thanksgiving in other places wasn't as different as it was in Bensonhurst. Back home, they could never get the whole family together without someone getting into a fight, verbal or physical.

"It's Thanksgiving," Johnny was saying. "Do we really have to do this?"

"She's being annoying," said Adriana.

"She's being a brat," said Claudia.

"And I'm being irritated," said Olivia, putting her head in her hands.

"No one asked you," snapped Adriana and Claudia at the same time.

"Guys!" shouted Johnny before the arguing could start again. All three of them turned to him. "Can't you all just drop it?"

"I will if Claudia will stop getting involved in my business," said Adriana.

"Uh, I'm your mother," retorted Claudia. "Your business is my business."

"Your business is criminal," Olivia muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Claudia rose slowly. "Open your mouth one more time, Bensonhurst, and I swear to God—"

"Claudia, don't do this," warned Johnny, preparing himself to keep Claudia and Olivia off of each other.

"Have fun trying to stop her," said Adriana with a sarcastic smile.

Claudia turned back to Adriana. "What are you, five? Do I need to send you to your room?"

"At least I'll be away from this crap."

Claudia felt like screaming. Adriana was crossing lines that she had never crossed before. In other words, Claudia was finally experiencing what it was like to raise a teenager.

"Do you even know how spoiled and bitchy you sound right now?" she asked her daughter.

"I wasn't the one who was about to bash Olivia's teeth in for speaking the truth," Adriana pointed out.

"I would like to see her try," said Olivia with a sly smile.

Claudia ignored her. It was like she and Johnny didn't exist anymore. Only she and Adriana were in the room. Everything was between them.

Adriana saw what she thought was a defeated look on her mother's face. "See, even you know it was true. You're just always looking for an excuse to pick a fight."

"I am not," said Claudia, even though she'd admit that it was kind of true.

"Yes, you are," insisted Adriana. "You just like antagonizing anything that moves."

At this, Claudia scoffed. "And you're just rainbows and sunshine twenty-four seven?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. You're the only person who pisses me off."

Whoa. Claudia didn't think that it would go this far. "Why? Because I care about you and don't want you to get hurt?"

"There is a fine line between caring and invasion of privacy. Guess which side you land on."

Claudia didn't have time for this. They were arguing in circles. "I don't need your crap right now. Just go upstairs and let everyone else eat in peace."

"Make me."

The blow of those two words almost knocked Claudia off her feet. But she stood her ground. Adriana was asking for it now. "You are just asking to be smacked."

Adriana smirked. Claudia would never do that. She may not have a heart, but she'd never hurt a hair on Adriana's head. Adriana stood up, not wanting to give in without a fight. "Fine. Do it. I dare you."

Damn, thought Claudia. Adriana saw right through her bluff. She'd never touch her daughter in that kind of way, ever.

Adriana smiled at Claudia's hesitance. "C'mon, do it." She shoved Claudia in her shoulders. Claudia took a step back, Adriana's moves shocking her. "Make me go upstairs. Beat the crap out of me. You know you want to."

"Okay, that's enough," said Johnny, moving to the other side of the table, grabbing Adriana by the elbow.

"Don't touch me," said Adriana, pushing him off. Claudia just stared at her daughter in horror. Nothing had ever scared her more then what Adriana was saying. She couldn't even believe that her own daughter would provoke her like that. Not that she would hit her. No, she wouldn't do it, not in a million years. She heard those statistics, about how most kids who were abused would eventually abuse their own children. She was not a statistic. She was a person who had had a traumatic childhood. Adriana had been through enough. How could she even suggest that Claudia would lay a hand on her?

Claudia was shocked out of her reverie by the ring of the telephone. She took one last glance at Adriana, who had a spark of rebellion glowing in her brown eyes, before saying, "I'll be right back," and leaving.

The second she was out of the dining room, Adriana checked her phone, reading the text that Kyle had sent her, the text that had started all of the fighting: "be at ur house in 15 mins?"

Adriana looked at the time on her phone. Fifteen minutes had almost passed since he had texted her. She responded, "srry. got in a fight with the fam. wait at the corner," then started to head for the door.

"Where're you going?" Johnny asked her.

"Out," she said. "Tell Claudia I'll be back by curfew." And, with that, she was gone.

Johnny glanced at Olivia, letting his breath out in a huge sigh. "I'm sorry I even thought that we could have a peaceful Thanksgiving here," he said, going over to her and wrapping his arms around her neck, leaning his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You didn't know they'd start fighting."

"Yeah, but I should have," said Johnny. "How could someone as hardheaded as Claudia and a love-struck teenager ever get along?"

"They've been pretty cool with each other for the most part, haven't they?" asked Olivia.

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, until this Kyle kid came into the picture. I was talking to Claudia yesterday. She said it's only been a week, but Adriana's already starting to act differently. I think she's really worried."

"Well, she needs to tell Adriana that instead of calling her a bitch," said Olivia.

"She didn't actually call her a bitch," Johnny pointed out.

"Whatever," said Olivia. "Neither of them are handling this in a healthy way. I was almost expecting Claudia to slap her."

Johnny laughed. "Claudia's tough, but she'd never hit Adriana. That I know for sure."

At that moment, Claudia walked back into the room, looking more frazzled than when she had left it. She noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Adriana?"

"She went out," said Johnny, straightening up.

Claudia couldn't believe this. "Where?"

"She didn't say," said Johnny, glancing at Olivia. "But she said she'd be back by curfew."

"God damn it," said Claudia, running her fingers through her hair. She hadn't wanted to end things with Adriana on such a bad note. But the strained relationship would have to wait. There were more pressing matters.

"Who was on the phone?" asked Johnny.

"One of our guys from Pier 46," said Claudia. "Another shipment just exploded."

Johnny's face became tight with worry. "Catolli?"

"I'm guessing," said Claudia. "I just don't know how it happened. We rerouted all of our shipments. How did he figure out that we'd have one coming in?"

"I'm not sure," said Johnny. "But what are we gonna do?"

"I'm gonna get in touch with Jason," said Claudia, "see what his situation with Catolli is." She looked at the floor. She could not deal with this right now, not with everything going on with Adriana. How had things gotten so messed up? Everything was going perfect until Catolli came to town. That was when things started shaking up in the business. It was also when Kyle had entered the picture.

Claudia considered the coincidence. Kyle hadn't existed until last week. Catolli was a fairly new player. Adriana had just started acting like a complete brat. Could it all be tied to something? It was possible, but what? What did Kyle have to do with a mobster? Most likely nothing, but Claudia couldn't convince herself of it. There was something suspicious about everything, and she had a feeling that Kyle was in the center of it. But what was "it"? What was the connection?

After Olivia and Johnny had gone home, and Claudia was cleaning up the kitchen, she still pondered it. Each possibility was more unlikely than the next, and eventually she settled her paranoia. The more time Adriana spent with Kyle, the more intolerable she became, but that was its own problem. It was teenager drama, stuff that wouldn't matter a year from now.

But a year from now wasn't what concerned Claudia. As Adriana's curfew grew closer and closer, she wondered where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing. Who she was with was obvious; Kyle had become the main focus of her life. But where were they? What were they doing? Claudia didn't like that she had to worry about her seventeen-year-old daughter when she was out with a boy, but she couldn't help it. Kyle rubbed her the wrong way. He was too nice, too clean-cut, and his effect on Adriana was too profound. These thoughts brought back her original ones: did Kyle have anything to do with Catolli? She still couldn't think of a good reason why, but her instincts were good. Even if Kyle didn't have anything to do with the new player, there was still something about him that made her not want to trust him. Adriana's attitude was getting worse and worse, and it all seemed to lead back to him.

Claudia heard the door slam at exactly eleven o'clock, but didn't leave her pondering spot in her office to nag Adriana. She just wasn't in the mood. Besides, Adriana had had a point; Claudia really did need to mind her own business.

But no matter what she did or convinced herself of, Claudia was still worried.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

The weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break went by fast, at least for Adriana. She'd wake up every morning and wouldn't even hit the snooze button. She'd jump right out of bed and go downstairs to get some breakfast, not even noticing that the sun wasn't up. She wasn't as slow as she used to be, either; she'd have her uniform on, makeup done, and bag packed fifteen minutes earlier than she used to. Kyle would send her a text when he was at the corner, and he'd drive her to school.

Despite the situations brewing at school, Adriana didn't really mind it. She and Kyle took turns walking each other to class, each of them raking in about fifty late slips each by the last day before winter break. The only class that they had together was Spanish, so Adriana would spend the other seven classes texting him. At first, she'd get caught all the time, but now she was getting better; pretending to search in her bag and holding up her textbook to block her phone were just two of the many skills she had acquired.

Her relationship with Kyle wasn't its own individual part of her life. It affected other things she had going on as well. She barely talked to any of her friends anymore. The soccer team ignored her in the halls. Kristina and Michael pretended she was invisible. And she didn't make an effort with the few other friends that she had. But it didn't really bother her. She liked spending all her time with Kyle, so what was the point of making plans that would eventually be cancelled?

Spending time with Kyle was pretty much all she did. She had stopped showing up for work ever since the day that he had saved her on the pier. So, about two weeks after being absent and not making an excuse, she just assumed she'd been fired, but didn't really care. She had enough money saved, and, if she was really desperate, Claudia was a limitless fountain of cash.

She hadn't been to a session with Lainey in weeks, either. It was up to her to make the appointments, but she hadn't bothered. She didn't think she needed Lainey anymore.

So, with soccer, friends, work, and therapy down the drain, all Adriana had to worry about was Kyle and school, but the latter slowly became less and less important. She hadn't realized how much she had been slacking until after school on the last day before break, when she and Kyle were sitting on the pier, comparing Spanish tests.

"It's not that bad," he was saying. "You still have a couple more weeks after break to make it up."

"I failed," Adriana said, downtrodden. She hadn't seen a big, red F on a test since the eighth grade, when she had gone to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert instead of studying for algebra.

"Please, it's not your fault," said Kyle. "Señora just takes off the most random points. And, she taught us this whole thing in the space of a week. No one did well."

"Says the guy who got a B," Adriana fumed, tucking the test back into her binder.

"One F isn't gonna take you out of the running for Harvard," said Kyle, laughing. "You need to calm down."

"Oxford," Adriana corrected him.

He frowned. "What?"

"Oxford," Adriana repeated. "In England. That's where I want to go to college."

"Why so far away?" Kyle questioned.

"It's where my parents went," answered Adriana. "They met there, actually. I've always wanted to go there. In fact, I've wanted to go to Oxford before I even knew how to say it."

Kyle shook his head. "Oxford, Harvard, whatever," he said. "One F is not gonna mean anything."

"But it's not just one F," said Adriana. "Listen to this." Kyle turned toward her, trying to look as interested as possible. "I got an English paper back today. Since I turned it in two days late, it was already a C, and because I did a crappy job on it, I ended up with a D minus."

"That's not an F," Kyle pointed out.

"Then," Adriana continued, ignoring his comment, "we did a lab today in physics, and I didn't take any notes, and because Kristina is being such a bitch, she won't let me copy hers. So, that lab report is about to go down the drain along with the rest of my physics grade."

"What is Kristina's deal?" asked Kyle. "I thought you guys were, like, best friends."

Adriana folded her arms. "We were, but now she's a bitch, and I don't want to be friends with her." She didn't want to elaborate and say that he was part of the reason that their friendship had exploded.

"If you guys hate each other so much, why don't you ask Mrs. Myers to switch you guys as lab partners?"

Adriana gave him an "are you kidding me?" look. "Mrs. Myers wouldn't switch us even if we were threatening to kill each other. It would ruin her order of things."

"Good point," said Kyle. He looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I hope you get your grades up before midterms."

"Yeah, join the club." As she started putting her binder in her backpack, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the name of the last person she wanted calling her right now. She flipped open the phone. "What, Claudia?"

"Are you planning on coming home for dinner tonight?" asked her mother's voice, crisp and curt.

"I don't know," said Adriana, casting a wary glance at Kyle. Claudia knew she was with Kyle, like she had been every other night for the past week and a half. "Let me think about it."

"How about, 'Sure, I'll be there, because I haven't been home before curfew for the past week and I miss you oh so much,'" said Claudia mockingly.

Adriana sighed, her breath coming out in a frustrated huff. "Fine. But can I go out after?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm your mother. Do I need a reason?"

If they had been together, Adriana would have given her the finger. "Be home soon." She hung up.

"Your mom?" asked Kyle, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," said Adriana miserably, zipping up her backpack. "Drive me home?"

"Sure, but hold on a second." Adriana stopped in the process of picking up her bag and watched as Kyle pulled a small box out of his pocket. It was wrapped neatly in red and tied with a green ribbon. Adriana knew what it was, and kicked herself internally.

"Damn it, yours is at home!" she said. "I thought I'd be able to see you on Christmas, but the way things are looking with Claudia, I'll be lucky if I get to see the light of day." She had gotten him a pair of expensive headphones that he had eyed the couple times that they had gone to the mall together.

"Don't worry about it," he said, holding out the box. "Just open it."

Adriana took it from him, slowly untying the ribbon, letting the anticipation build. Once the ribbon was off, she started on the paper, removing the tape from each neatly creased edge. Underneath it all was a black velvet box with a gold clasp, which she opened with shaking fingers. Inside was a beautiful, sterling silver heart-shaped locket, with a lovely engraved "A" on the front.

"Oh, Kyle," she said, removing it and holding it up, where it sparkled, catching the fading December sun. "It's beautiful."

"I thought it would look good on your necklace, next to that ring you always wear," he said, smiling. "You want me to put it on?"

"Sure," she said. She handed him the locket and turned around, holding up her long, brown hair. A tingle went down her spine as she felt his fingers undo the clasp of her necklace and slip the locket on. It rested gently right next to her ring as he closed the clasp, placed his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Adriana fingered the two charms she now had around her neck, and was surprised when a tear rolled down her face and a shudder came over her body.

Kyle felt her shake. "Something wrong?"

Adriana wrapped her fingers tightly around the ring. "I just realized something. This is my first Christmas without my parents."

Kyle knew how she felt. The first Christmas was always the hardest. The second wasn't much easier. "I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head, hoping to comfort her.

"It's strange, the things you miss," said Adriana through her tears. "I miss the tradition of it all, you know?" Kyle nodded. "Every year we'd do the same thing. Even when my dad started traveling, we'd still come home for Christmas. On Christmas Eve Day, my dad would take off work and the three of us would go and cut down our own Christmas tree, and we'd take it home and decorate it together." She smiled to herself, basking in the memories. "When I was younger, me and my mum would bake cookies for Santa. But as I got older, we'd just eat all the cookies ourselves." She leaned into Kyle more, resting her head on his chest as he held her close. "On Christmas morning, we'd all wake up and open presents. They always got me really good presents." She let a few more tears fall, not wanting to hold back anymore. She needed to let it all out.

Kyle stroked her hair, digesting what she was saying. It was so hard not to let his feelings control him and to really feel sorry for her. But if he did that, then he'd be screwing himself up. He had to remain impassive to her, even at times like this, when she really needed a shoulder to cry on. Guilt welled up in his stomach. She thought that he really cared for her, when it was all fake. All he wanted was to help his father and get rid of the Zaccharas for good.

Or did he? Did he really want to do this? It had been about a month since that last shipment had exploded, and he hadn't done anything to really move the operation along. Could he, without realizing it, have stopped with his father's plan because he cared too much about Adriana? He didn't think he had, but he let the evidence present itself. He had not been making any sort of effort in getting more information on the Zacchara organization. He was failing, and he hadn't even noticed. He needed to change his attitude, and now. The sooner this whole thing was over, the better. Because the longer he stayed with Adriana, the more likely he was to become a traitor to his own family and let the Zaccharas win over the Catollis.

Adriana and Kyle's thoughtful silence was interrupted by Adriana's phone vibrating again. Adriana groaned, wiped her nose, and answered it. "Chill out, Claudia. I'm on my way home."

"Have you been crying?" Claudia asked, concerned.

"None of your damn business," snapped Adriana, trying to disguise her shaky voice. She flipped the phone shut and sat up straight. "Let's go before she sends out a search party. Or, worse, comes and looks for me herself."

"Yeah, okay," said Kyle, standing up and hiking his backpack up on his right shoulder. He looked at Adriana as she also picked up her bag. Her face was bright red and her eyes were puffy. "You gonna be okay?"

She sniffled. "Yeah. Thanks for letting me cry a little. I needed that."

He bent down and planted a soft kiss on her thin lips. "Anytime."

"And thanks for the locket," said Adriana, twirling her fingers around the gift. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," he said. "Now, I'll always be with you, even when Claudia won't let you out of the house."

Adriana laughed, but it came out choked. "I think that's gonna start being almost all the time."

"What can she really do to stop us?" he asked, because it was the complete and honest truth. Once he got his head back in the game, Claudia wouldn't be able to do anything.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

_One month later…_

Adriana sat on her bed, staring at her laptop, rubbing her temples in frustration. She had been trying to start this essay for almost an hour, but couldn't think of what she was supposed to write. She had half-assed her way through _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, thinking that she could get away with only skimming each scene and faking it on the tests that they had at the end of each act. Well, if the tests hadn't been proof enough that Shakespeare wasn't something that could simply be glossed over, this essay most definitely was. She was supposed to write an entire five paragraphs, single-spaced, on the importance of the rose and what it symbolized. When Mrs. Lynam had handed out the prompt, Adriana thought that she had read the wrong play. There had been a rose? And it was important? And they had to write an essay on the alleged importance of this mysterious rose? School sucked.

Adriana minimized the Word document and opened her internet browser, the Facebook homepage illuminating itself before her. She typed in her email and password, and was led to her home screen, where nothing greeted her. No notifications. No inboxes. Nothing. She had been hoping for something—a wall post, a picture comment, even a group name change. She just wanted something that could distract her from this stupid essay. She scrolled through the Live Feed. There were the usual people who joined every group and became a fan of every page there was. A lot of her friends were finding lonely brown cows on their farms in Farmville. But there was nothing interesting, nothing she could like or comment on. On the right side of the page she saw the birthday list. Kyle's name was at the top.

She smiled. Kyle was eighteen today, and she had gotten him an awesome present. She had wanted to give it to him first thing that day at school, but was afraid that someone might steal it. She had spent the last of her savings from working at Kelly's on two tickets to U2, Kyle's favorite band. The concert was in a couple of months at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and Adriana absolutely could not wait to see the look on Kyle's face when she gave him his present.

Adriana looked at the clock in the lower right-hand corner of her screen. Eight-thirty. She hadn't been able to hang out with Kyle after school today, because he was supposed to have this big dinner with his father. He said he'd call her afterwards, but as it got later and later, Adriana wondered if his father was letting him go out at all.

She moaned in frustration as she returned to her blank Word document. Who did Mrs. Lynam think she was, giving a paper right after midterms? As if those hadn't been hard enough. Adriana hadn't exactly prepared herself fully for the three days of testing; she'd been too busy with Kyle. The grades would be coming in the mail any day now, along with her second quarter grades. She wasn't too excited about seeing any of them.

Where was Kyle? Besides just wanting to see him and give him his present, Adriana needed a legitimate distraction from this essay. Who cared that it was due tomorrow? She didn't want to write it. And she couldn't even keep herself entertained by pushing Claudia's buttons, because she was in Manhattan for "business." Adriana didn't understand what reason there was to take a business trip when you were the head of a global crime syndicate, but whatever. Claudia wouldn't be back for a few days, and that was a few days for Adriana to be free of the tension that existed whenever the two of them were in the same room. But, she would miss her daily "How can we piss Claudia off today?" sessions, where she said and did obnoxious things to make Claudia angry. Just dropping Kyle's name usually did the trick.

Adriana miserably typed in her heading for the essay, knowing that she'd need to start eventually, even if she didn't want to. She questioned her reluctance. She used to be such a little Shakespeare freak. By the time she was fourteen, she had seen six of his plays at the Globe Theater in London. She had been obsessed. Now, however, she couldn't care less about him, his plays, or this stupid paper.

Adriana felt her phone vibrate on the bed next to her. Her smile grew wide as she opened the text up from Kyle, the only person who ever texted her anymore: "at the corner. meet me. i have a surprise."

Finally! Adriana jumped off her bed, put a pair of boots over her plaid pajama bottoms and a hoodie over her tank-top, grabbed the envelope that contained the U2 tickets from her dresser, and headed downstairs.

Adriana zipped up her sweatshirt and put on the hood as she met the cold, February air. Newly fallen snow crunched beneath her boots as she traipsed across the lawn to the secret entrance. Even though Claudia wasn't home, Adriana didn't know how trustworthy the guards would be. It was easier just to meet Kyle discreetly.

Adriana's step became faster and more excited as she reached the sidewalk and started heading for the corner. What she saw at her destination caused her jaw to drop and her eyes to grow.

Kyle was leaning casually against a parked, bright red motorcycle. It was obviously brand new; the paint job was flawless, the seats didn't have a scratch on them. Under one arm he held a red helmet, while a matching one sat on the seat beside him.

"No way!" screamed Adriana, running towards him. He dropped the helmet he was holding and embraced her, her feet leaving the ground slightly as she planted a birthday kiss on his lips. Her arms remained around his neck as he set her down, the tickets still crunched in her hand.

"You like it?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" said Adriana, walking around the beautiful piece of machinery, examining every angle. She didn't know the first thing about motorcycles, but this was incredible. "Your dad got you this?"

"Yep," said Kyle. "It's mine."

"It's—wow," Adriana was speechless. She had not been expecting this when she had come to meet him. "It makes my present look like crap."

"What'd you get me?" asked Kyle, a tad greedily.

Adriana handed him the envelope. He tore it open hastily, pulling out the two tickets inside. He read them over for a second, and his face lit up when he realized what they were. "U2? You got tickets?" Adriana nodded, and Kyle immediately felt the familiar guilt return. Here he was, being a complete and total snake while she went and spent all her money on one of the most expensive concerts in the world. He hid his true feelings with his smile, saying, "I can't believe you did that."

"Anything for you," said Adriana, walking back over to him. He put his arms around her waist, letting them rest on her lower back. He leaned down and began kissing her passionately, his way of saying "thank you."

Once he pulled away, Adriana smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you," she joked.

He laughed. "And, we can ride this to the concert," he said, nodding towards the bike.

Adriana looked at him skeptically. "We're gonna ride from Port Charles to Manhattan on a motorcycle?"

He shrugged. "Why not?" Suddenly, Adriana felt her feet leave the ground as Kyle scooped her up and sat her on the motorcycle. Adriana grabbed the handles lightly, not wanting to press any buttons and screw up her boyfriend's brand-new toy.

"Wanna go for a ride?" asked Kyle. He picked up the helmet on the seat and placed it on Adriana's head, buckling the strap. Then, he reached down the ground and picked up his own helmet, put it on, and climbed onto the bike behind Adriana, his arms circling around her as he grasped the handles with her.

"Where?" asked Adriana, turning a little to face him.

"Kiefer's parents are out of town," said Kyle, "so he's throwing a little party."

"And by little you mean—"

"The entire senior class," said Kyle with a grin, "and some underclassmen. Wanna go?"

Adriana looked down at her outfit. She couldn't go to a party dressed like she was. "Give me ten minutes to change?"

"Change?" questioned Kyle. He took he hands off the handlebars and wrapped them around Adriana's stomach. His chin rested on her shoulder as he whispered, "I think you look beautiful." He started kissing her neck, which he knew was Adriana's most ticklish spot.

"Kyle, stop!" she giggled, cringing as she clambered off the bike, his hands still wrapped around her. His lips moved from her neck to her mouth, but she pulled away, still laughing and smiling. "Just give me ten minutes. I'll be right back." She let him kiss her one more time before heading back to the house as fast as she could. This would be her first senior party, and it was a night that she knew she wouldn't want to forget.

Lucky for her, she wouldn't.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

"Whoa, careful!" said Kyle, catching Adriana before she fell flat on her face. Again. She had almost taken a tumble at least five times between his parked motorcycle and the front door. They were in the entrance hall now, Adriana clumsily kicking off her shoes as Kyle kept a firm grip on her elbow.

"I don't think this is a good idea," whispered Kyle, looking around nervously.

"Don't worry about it," Adriana said, the words slurring together. She wrapped her arms around Kyle's neck, more for support than affection, the beer bottle still hanging from her right hand. "We took the secret way. No one's gonna know." She shook her head, her mouth forming a crooked smile.

"What about your mom?" asked Kyle, trying his best not to smile along with her. He had never seen her drunk before, and it was a little amusing, especially because it wasn't that serious. She had only had four beers. "She hates me enough as it is. I don't think bringing her daughter home drunk is gonna earn me any brownie points."

Adriana laughed a little harder than was necessary. "Claudia's not here. She's not gonna be back for days. We have the whole place to ourselves."

Kyle smiled back at her nervously. It was the perfect opportunity. Adriana was ready to pass out any second. Once she did, he could easily find everything that he needed to bring the Zacchara organization to its knees.

"Why don't we get you upstairs?" he said, unwrapping her arms from his neck, the cool glass of the bottle brushing against his skin. He started to pull her towards the staircase. "You can lie down and sleep it off and you'll only have a little headache in the morning."

"No," said Adriana, resisting his pull. "I want to show you something."

Kyle frowned, confused. "What?"

"C'mon," said Adriana. Now it was her turn to pull him. "Think of it as the second part of your birthday present."

Now Kyle was interested. What was the harm? Adriana could show him whatever she wanted and then he'd take her up to bed. It wouldn't take that long.

Adriana led him, one shaky foot in front of the other, down the hallway to the closed office doors, where she turned and smiled at Kyle mischievously, the almost-empty bottle still swinging from her hand.

"We're not supposed to go in here," she whispered, pointing at the door and giggling at her rebellion. "But we're going to anyway." She pulled down the door handle and pushed it open slowly, unnecessarily checking to make sure no one was inside. Kyle followed her and looked around, pretending like he'd never been in there before.

"It's nice," he said, his hands in his pockets as he looked around in feigned interest.

"Do you know what this is?" Adriana asked him, pushing aside some things on the desk so that she could sit on the end. She set the bottle down next to her.

"An office?" Kyle guessed, wondering what she was getting at.

Adriana laughed. "Yes," she said. "But do you know what else?" Kyle shrugged his shoulders. "This is where my parents, I mean, Claudia and Trevor—this is where they, you know…this is where my grandfather walked in on them. Right here, in this room."

Kyle tried to block the mental images. "Oh."

Adriana nodded. "Yeah. So, this room is really special to me. I mean, without this room, I might not even be here right now."

Kyle still didn't understand what exactly she wanted to show him. He walked over to her and hugged her close to him, his hands clasped tightly around her lower back. She looked up at him like an eager child, her pupils heavily dilated. "Okay, here's the thing. You're a little drunk right now. So why don't we get you upstairs, you can go to sleep, come in late to school tomorrow—"

"You don't get it, do you?" asked Adriana, as if whatever there was to get was obvious.

"Get what?" asked Kyle, still not grasping what she was saying. "Adriana, you're not making any sense, and I think it's the Corona talking—"

"No," said Adriana, shaking her head, frustrated. "I am only this drunk—" she held her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart "—and I know exactly what I'm saying."

"Yeah, but I don't," said Kyle. "You wanna fill me in, 'cause it's feeling like you're just talking to yourself."

Adriana chuckled through her teeth, the laugh coming out like a hiss. "You're supposed to be smart."

This was a waste of time. Kyle needed to get her upstairs, get her asleep, and get everything he needed fast. He couldn't keep on sitting here, listening to her psychobabble herself to sleep. While the end result would be what he wanted, it would take entirely too long.

"Okay, just tell me what you need to tell me so that we can get you upstairs," he said impatiently.

Adriana let out her breath in a huff. "This room is special to me, but I wanted to make it more special. With you."

Finally, it clicked in Kyle's head, and he had no idea what to say. He had not been expecting this when he had walked in here. In fact, he hadn't been expecting this at all, ever. He thought he'd be finished with Adriana by the time this point in their relationship showed up.

Adriana looked at him, waiting for his answer. What was he supposed to say? He wasn't prepared for this at all. He decided to play the drunk card again. "Adriana, you're drunk. I don't think this a good idea right now."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I know what I'm talking about," said Adriana, crossing her arms. She took note of how close Kyle was to her. "In case you haven't noticed, you still have your arms wrapped around me."

Maybe she wasn't as wasted as he thought. Even he hadn't realized that there was barely an inch between the two of them. But, still… "I don't think now is a good time."

Adriana stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "You know, you could just say 'no.' It wouldn't be as bad as you just making excuses."

Ugh, great, thought Kyle. He was just making things worse. "Okay, you want me to be honest?"

"That would be nice," said Adriana, waiting for his explanation.

"I don't want to take advantage of you," said Kyle, the words tasting like vomit on his tongue. That was exactly what he was doing right now. He was trying to get her to sleep so that he could ruin everything that generations of her family had worked to build. In fact, even though she didn't know it, he'd be taking less advantage if he slept with her.

"But you're not," pleaded Adriana. "I'm asking you. Yes or no?"

"Look, Adriana—"

"Fine, I'll answer for you," she said. She took her arms and wrapped them tightly around his neck, pulling him on top of her as she lay down on the desk. Kyle didn't even see it coming. He let himself be pulled by Adriana, his entire weight resting on top of hers. He had made his choice.

Kyle's lips pressed into Adriana, his hands cupping her face tightly. Adriana held onto tufts of his thick, brown hair with one hand, while the other was shoving all of the items on the desk out of the way, letting them fall on the floor around them. She pushed herself all the way onto the desk and Kyle followed, their lips never parting the whole time. Neither of them had ever felt such passion for anyone. They were all alone. No one to interrupt. No one to judge. Just the two of them, together, as one.

Adriana felt Kyle's hands reach underneath her as he pulled her up from the desk. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her over to the wall and pressed her against it. She felt his hands creep to her waist where he started lifting up her shirt. With her legs still wrapped around him for support, she raised her arms and let him pull her shirt all the way off, revealing the scar on her stomach that was left over from when Sonny had stabbed her. She hated that scar so much. When she would change for gym and soccer, she would always try to hide it, embarrassed by it. But she didn't care now. Kyle could look at her scar for as long as she wanted.

Kyle brought her down, letting her feet finally touch the ground. His hands reached down to the zipper on her jeans while she worked on unbuttoning his shirt. Each of them proceeded with shaky fingers, their lips still locked together. They finished at the same time; Adriana slipped her jeans off while Kyle flung his shirt to a corner of the room. Adriana laid her hands all over his stomach, feeling the abs that she hadn't known existed. Kyle grabbed her hands in his and started pushing her towards the couch near the bookshelf on one wall of the room. She walked steadily backwards, her head spinning from the beer and the adrenaline. But her feet were on autopilot as she walked herself to the couch, where she lay down, Kyle's weight on top of her. Despite him being significantly larger than her, she didn't feel crushed by him. If anything, he felt weightless. She felt like both of them were floating on a cloud, other people and problems far away. She heard the two _thunks_ as Kyle kicked off his sneakers. She reached underneath him and started to undo the snap on his jeans. He shimmied out of them, letting them rest in a heap at the foot of the couch.

Finally, for the first time throughout the entire rampage, their lips parted. Kyle's brown eyes stared into Adriana's, and they had a moment where neither of them needed to say or do anything. From that look, they understood each other, saw each other's strength and weaknesses, shared the pain and joy that they had both experienced in their lives. And all that they saw, all that they took in from one another, in just that split second, defined everything that existed in the next kiss that Kyle planted on Adriana's lips.

Because, now, both of them had everything that they had ever wanted.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter Thirteen_

Kyle watched as Adriana slept next to him. They were both snuggled together on the floor beneath a heavy wool blanket, each article of their clothing flung somewhere about the room. He held her close to him, breathing in the fruity smell of her long, thick hair. Her right hand rested on his grip while her left clutched the blanket. Her breathing was long and even, and every now and then she would shift in her sleep, but would always end up back in the same position.

Kyle couldn't sleep. A million thoughts were running through his brain right now. First and foremost, what had he just done? Had he really just made love to Adriana right here on the floor of her mother's office? Or was it all a dream? Maybe he would wake up in his own house soon, with no real recollection of the event. But it couldn't have been a dream. It was all so real…

So, if it wasn't a dream, and it had all really happened, what did it mean? He was supposed to be using Adriana to get to the Zaccharas. None of this was supposed to happen. What the hell had he been thinking? He couldn't go through with it all now, not after what just happened. He and Adriana had shared something special, and nothing, not even loyalty to his family, could change that.

He loved her.

Wait. He paused and rewound his thoughts. Did he just think to himself that he loved her? No, that was impossible. This was all merely part of the plan. It didn't really mean anything.

Why was he lying to himself? Why had he been lying to himself for months? He had convinced himself that he didn't like Adriana, that all of this was just business. But it wasn't. It couldn't be, not after what he just did. It was more than that now. He genuinely cared for Adriana. He didn't want to hurt her in any way. He was done with his father's stupid plan. He couldn't do this to himself and, more importantly, he couldn't do this to Adriana. She didn't deserve it.

He'd have to tell her. He couldn't let her just find out on her own. Maybe, if he told her the whole truth, she'd forgive him. They could continue what they had going. So what if their families were trying to kill each other? None of it mattered. Everything they felt for each other was real, and nothing could get in the way of it. In fact, once the secret was out, they'd probably be closer than ever.

But what if she hated him? What if she didn't forgive him? What if she wanted nothing to do with him? She'd feel hurt, betrayed, used—was it worth it? Maybe things were better left unsaid. He could stop his father's plan, and still keep the secret. Then, everyone would be happy. Everyone, that is, except his father.

What would happen when he found out? Would he find out? Kyle and Adriana had worked to keep things as discreet as possible, but Manny wasn't stupid. He'd notice how late Kyle had been out tonight—speaking of which, what time was it? His cell phone was in the pocket of his jeans, which were somewhere about. He didn't want to wake Adriana. She looked so peaceful, her eyes closed and her breathing long and deep. He tried to slide his arm out from underneath Adriana, but he felt her stir and turn around, her eyes open halfway.

"What's going on?" she asked, dazed and confused.

"Shh," said Kyle, putting a finger to his lips. "I'm just getting my phone to see what time it is. Do you know where my jeans went?"

Adriana blearily looked around until she spotted them at the foot of the couch. "There," she said, pointing.

Kyle followed her finger and saw them. They were turned inside out and the legs were bunched at the bottom. "Thanks," he said. He sat up, and, without taking the blanket off, reached over and plucked them from their spot. His phone fell out of the pocket and onto his lap. He picked it up, flipped it open, and his eyes widened at the time.

"Whoa, it's two-thirty," he said, rubbing his eyes, the light from the phone blinding him in the almost-darkness. "I better get going."

Adriana frowned. Her head was still a little hazy from the sleep, but she was pretty sure she had heard him correctly. "Now? Why?"

"I gotta get home," he said. "Don't need my dad getting all stressed."

"Can't you just stay here?" asked Adriana. "Claudia's not home. We can just go to school together in the morning."

Kyle leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He didn't linger too long; he didn't want Adriana thinking that he was up for another round. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"You didn't think sleeping with me was a good idea either, but you did it anyway," Adriana pointed out, sitting up.

She had him there. "Adriana—"

"You regret it, don't you?" Tears started welling up in her eyes. She had just given him everything, but it hadn't been enough. He hadn't been satisfied. "Please just be honest with me. Do you regret what we did?"

Yes, Kyle thought, but not in the way that you think. Time to lie again. He held her hand in his. "No, of course not. Adriana, I…I love you." The words had more impact once they were said out loud. It made them more truthful and permanent; now that he had said them, he couldn't take them back.

Adriana didn't know what to say. He loved her? Did he mean it? Well, he must have, because he said it, and why would he make it up? Did she love him? She hadn't really thought about it…was she attracted to him? Yes. Did she like him as a person? Yes. But did she love him? Maybe she did, but she just hadn't realized it. Wasn't this love, though? Sharing things with someone that you'd never shared with anyone before—wasn't that love? Giving someone your whole heart? Giving up everything for that one person? It had to be.

"I…I love you, too, Kyle," said Adriana. Once she said it, she knew it was true. It just sounded right, rolling off her tongue as easily as anything else she had ever said to him.

Kyle smiled, but it was really a grimace; beneath the grin, his internal conflict started brewing again. She said that she loved him, and she definitely meant it. But everything she loved was fake. She didn't know who he really was or what his motives were. No, not were. Had been. Past tense. He wasn't doing this anymore. He was going to come clean. She deserved to know who she claimed to love.

"Adriana—"

"No," she said, cutting him off. "I'm sorry. I'm acting like a desperate, clingy girlfriend. Go home. I'll just see you tomorrow."

He couldn't go without explaining himself. Because soon, it would be too late. In fact, it already was, but he'd have to do it eventually. "But—"

"Don't worry," said Adriana, shaking her head. "I'll be okay. But," she added, a thought coming to her mind, "Claudia's gonna be gone for a few more days, so if you'd wanna come back tomorrow night…" She trailed off, letting him get the gist.

He nodded. Tomorrow, before they did it again, he'd explain himself. "Yeah, of course. You sure you'll be okay?"

Adriana smiled. "I'll be fine. Call me when you get home?"

He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her neck, kissing her deeply. She reciprocated, her hands resting on his shoulder blades. He pulled away, grinning at her sheepishly. "Of course." He started looking around him for the rest of his clothes. "Now, where are my—?"

"Right here," said Adriana, leaning over to her other side to retrieve his boxers. She handed them to him, and he slipped them on under the blanket. After that, he stood up and pulled on his jeans, still looking about the room for his shirt.

"Hey, you know where my shirt went?" he asked. Adriana wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and glanced around, but didn't see it anywhere.

She shook her head. "No." She looked up at him, trying to suppress a smile. "But I prefer you without it."

He laughed. "Oh, really?" He kneeled down next to her and began kissing her again, but it didn't last for long.

Claudia had returned a little early from Manhattan.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Fourteen_

Claudia had heard people use the term "déjà vu" all the time, but she herself had never experienced it. Until now, when she saw Kyle and Adriana in her office, Kyle shirtless and Adriana wearing nothing but a blanket. The contents of her desk were all over the floor. Articles of clothing were thrown everywhere around the room. Just that one sight made it all come rushing back.

_"Daddy," was all Claudia could say. He had come in, just like she knew he would. His face was blank with shock. This was to be expected. He wouldn't know what to think at first. Who would? Just give it a second, she told herself. Everything will be fine in a second._

_ The second went by. Another one followed. And another one after that. The clock on the mantle ticked, the only sound in the room. Anthony's face remained the same. Claudia told herself not to panic as she looked around. Hers and Trevor's clothes lay around the desk along with files, pens, and other paraphernalia. Trevor was still on top of her, his body still touching hers. She wanted him to leave, to never touch her again. It would take more than a second, she told herself. Let him digest what he's seen. Trevor will be gone soon._

"Claudia," Adriana moaned softly, horrified. This did not look good from any perspective. Kyle was half naked. She was completely naked. Everything on the desk was on the floor. Clothes were everywhere. Claudia's face was changing colors faster than a traffic light; it went from ghostly white to fire engine red in a split second. There was no doubt how shocked and pissed she was. Just don't be mad at Kyle, she thought to herself. This wasn't his idea.

_Finally, Anthony spoke. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_ Claudia could have screamed with joy. Trevor was finally getting what he deserved. Time to put on the waterworks._

_ "Daddy, thank God you're here!" said Claudia, tears welling in her eyes easily as she scrambled out from underneath a bewildered Trevor. She found her dress on the floor and put it on quickly, trying to get her bearings. The tears weren't completely fake. What she had just done scared her out of her mind. And her father would be able to tell immediately. He'd know what Trevor had done to her, and kick his ass out of this house for good._

_ "He raped me, Daddy!" Claudia screamed. "He raped me! Didn't you see?" She turned towards Trevor, who was hastily trying to pull on a pair of pants. She tried not to smile as she said, "He made me do it, Daddy, he made me!" It wasn't a complete lie; if Trevor hadn't been the way he was, there wouldn't have been a need for this. He had forced her to do this. She turned towards Anthony, but what she saw wasn't what she was expecting. He was directing his anger-ridden face towards her, not Trevor. What was going on?_

_ "You selfish bitch," he spat right at her. "Don't insult my intelligence by trying to convince me that any of this was Trevor's idea."_

"Good God, I'm gone for two days and you go and pull a stunt like this?" Claudia chucked her black clutch across the room and tore off her jacket, letting it drop to the floor.

Adriana stared at her in terror. She felt Kyle tense next to her. This is not his fault, she kept thinking. "This isn't what it looks like," she said, for no reason other than to alleviate an awkward silence. Claudia wasn't stupid. It was exactly what it looked like.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted. "Who gave you permission to bang your boyfriend on the floor of my office?"

Adriana stood up, holding Kyle's hand tight in hers. She needed him now more than ever. "Claudia, please, just listen—"

"No, you listen!" Claudia shouted. "I want your boyfriend out of here, now!"

"He has a name!" Adriana yelled back.

Kyle saw his cue to leave. He put his hand on Adriana's shoulder and said. "No, I'll leave." He turned to Claudia. "Look, Ms. Zacchara, I'm really sorry—"

"Get out," Claudia said coldly. "And don't even think about coming back."

"Claudia," started Adriana, but one look from her mother told her to shut up. Kyle picked up his shoes, but still didn't know where his shirt was. Adriana saw him looking for it, and also looked around. Claudia picked up on the search, and looked down at her feet to see a blue collared shirt underneath her two-inch red heels. She bent down, picked it up, and held it in her hands, letting the light fabric run through her fingers. Kyle walked over to her to take it from her, holding out his hand. Claudia shoved it at his stomach viciously.

He tried to redeem himself one more time as he headed out the door. "I'm—"

"Save it," said Claudia, slamming the door in his face.

_ "Trevor, get out of here!" Anthony shouted at him. Claudia swore she could feel wind from the force of his voice. "I need a second alone with my daughter."_

_ No, thought Claudia. Not alone. Anything but that. Who knew what he'd do if they were alone? Thinking about it made her want to be sick._

_ Trevor didn't say a word. He just grabbed the rest of his clothes, and walked out the door, giving Claudia a look up and down as he left, a look that made her feel disgusting and violated. All of it had been for nothing. She had just given herself, her body, for nothing. Trevor wasn't going to leave. She and Johnny wouldn't ever be safe. And her father was crazier than he'd ever been. No, it was all supposed to work out. It wasn't supposed to happen like this._

Adriana and Claudia stared at each other for what felt hours. Adriana felt exposed, just standing there in the blanket. Claudia didn't know what to feel. This wasn't supposed to happen. Adriana was supposed to have been smarter than she was. She wasn't supposed to have made this mistake. And not here. Anywhere but here. This room had been the reason that Adriana had existed, the reason that everything had gotten so screwed up.

"What the hell?" asked Claudia wearily. What else could she say when she didn't even know what to think?

Adriana gulped, her mouth dry. Claudia wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be in Manhattan. She wasn't supposed to know about any of this. "Claudia, I…I'm sorry," she started, but then stopped herself. What did she have to be sorry about? She hadn't done anything wrong. She was seventeen years old; she could make decisions for herself.

"Yeah, you're damn right you're sorry," Claudia spat, her voice at a menacingly low tone. "Explain yourself, now. And, for God's sakes, put some clothes on."

Adriana started looking around the room for her clothes. Her underwear was under the couch. Her shirt was in a corner. Her jeans were by the door. She collected each item quickly, the blanket still wrapped around her. Once she had everything, she started to put her clothes back on underneath the blanket, while Claudia waited for the explanation.

_"You little slut," Anthony whispered. Claudia started taking slow steps backwards towards the desk, clutching it for support when she reached it. Anthony followed her, his eyes wild. Claudia noticed his right hand shaking. She knew that shake. No. Not now. She couldn't take it._

_ "Daddy, listen to me," she pleaded, her tears flowing freely. "I didn't do anything. It was Trevor, Daddy!"_

_ "Shut up!" Anthony yelled. He swung his right hand back, then let it lurch forward and make contact with Claudia's face. She yelped in pain, more tears springing to her eyes. "Don't give me that crap! You thought I wouldn't see through you, but I do! I know exactly what this was all about!"_

"There's really not that much to explain," said Adriana, now fully-clothed, the blanket lying in a heap on the floor. Claudia hadn't moved from her position by the doorway. She stood there, her arms folded, preparing to shut down every word that came out of Adriana's mouth. "I'm sure it was pretty obvious to you when you walked in the door." She suddenly realized something. "What are you even doing here? You're supposed to be in Manhattan."

"I wasn't there as long as I thought I would be," Claudia answered shortly, trying to get back to the real issue. "But that's not important. What's important is, first of all, the reason you were in here in the first place. I specifically remember telling you not to come in here, especially not with…friends," she said, the last word not sounding quite right, given the situation.

"It's not like we took anything," said Adriana, shrugging off Claudia's words.

"Yeah, but look at my desk," said Claudia, walking over to it and trying not to think of what Adriana and Kyle might have been doing on it. She started picking up files and pens off the floor. "There are things that are very important that I can't—" She stopped, noticing something among her things that didn't belong. Some of its contents had spilt on the floor, soaking files that couldn't be replaced. But that wasn't the biggest problem.

"What the hell is this doing here?" Claudia held up the now-empty beer bottle, her eyes narrowing in fury.

Damn it, thought Adriana, but didn't say anything out loud. She couldn't explain this away, any of it. The longer Claudia was in here, the worse it would get.

Claudia wished Adriana would say something. The silence was killing her. She decided to fill it in. "Please tell me you found this on the street and brought it in to throw it away."

"Well, not exactly…"

"Then what, exactly?"

Adriana took a deep breath. "Well, before we came here, Kyle and I went to a party—"

"At whose house?"

"Kiefer's."

Claudia shook her head, letting the bottle drop to the floor. It landed with a _clink_ among the desk's contents. "So, he gets you drunk—"

"He didn't get me drunk!" Adriana shouted, jumping in to defend him. "I chose to drink. All of this was my idea!"

_"It was Trevor, Daddy, I swear!" Claudia cried. The spot where he had slapped her burned as bad as if he was holding a candle to her face. _

_ "No, you did this!" shouted Anthony. "You knew I loved to watch Maria in the garden! You knew I'd come in here and see you with him! But you didn't know that I value him more than you! I'd send you away faster than I'd send him! He actually does something helpful around here!" He made a lunge at her again, but Claudia scrambled over the desk, out of his reach._

_ "No, Daddy, stop it!" she begged from the other side of the desk. "Get away from me, Daddy! Get away from me!"_

Her idea? No, this couldn't be. Didn't she remember that first day after her parents died, when Claudia had explained to her how she had gotten pregnant with her in the first place? Didn't she stop and think about the consequences? "Adriana, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I loved him," Adriana answered easily. "That we loved each other, and that I wanted to prove it to him."

"Adriana, you're seventeen years old," Claudia started, but her daughter wouldn't let her finish.

"Yeah, and you were sixteen when you slept with Trevor," Adriana pointed out. "So don't start with me."

"Do as I say, not as I do," Claudia replied curtly.

Adriana put her face in her hands, frustrated. "But you didn't say anything! You just told me to 'be safe,' which I could have heard from a kindergarten teacher."

"Were you safe?" Claudia asked, just realizing it. Adriana was smart, but the way things were looking right now…she had been drinking, so her judgment wasn't all it might be…was history really repeating itself before her very eyes?

"Were you?" Adriana shot back, deflecting. Claudia had no right to lecture her on the importance of safe sex, when she was living proof that her mother hadn't abided by that code.

Claudia shook her head. "Well, obviously not, but that's not what's important right now." Adriana still didn't say anything. "Adriana, I swear to God—"

"Yes," Adriana said, lying through her teeth. Would Claudia believe her?

"Okay, good," said Claudia, breathing an internal sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about. "Well, it's not all good, but—"

"But what?" Adriana moaned, exasperated. "What? What did I do that was so wrong? There are people in my school who have done so many worse things than I have. I could still be at Kiefer's house smoking pot right now, but I'm not! I have sex with my boyfriend one time and you completely lose it!"

"It's not just that, Adriana!" Claudia shouted. She walked over to the door, picked up her black leather jacket, and started searching through the pockets until she found what she was looking for. In her hands she held two folded pieces of paper. She opened the first one up and started reading. "'Second quarter grades for Adriana C. Brown. English: D. History: C. Spanish: D minus. Physics: D minus. Calculus: D plus. Gym: F.'" She brought the paper down, and Adriana saw that she was crying. "How the hell did this happen? You had straight A's just three months ago. And how the hell do you get an F in gym?"

Adriana looked down at her feet. "By not showing up."

"Not showing up?" Claudia questioned. "Why haven't you been showing up for gym?"

"Kyle has a free period when I have gym," Adriana answered sheepishly.

"Oh, my God," said Claudia, shaking her head. "It all comes back to Kyle, doesn't it? Is he the reason for your midterm grades, too?" She unfolded the second piece of paper. "'C, C, C, C, and a D in calculus.'" Adriana didn't say anything. "And when's the last time you went to a soccer game or practice? I don't see your stuff in the laundry anymore."

Adriana stopped looking at her feet and instead looked up at the ceiling. "I got kicked off the team."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Claudia asked. Adriana didn't respond. "Were you skipping practices to hang out with Kyle?"

"Yes," said Adriana.

"What about your friends?" Claudia asked. Did Adriana have a life outside of Kyle at all? "Don't you see them anymore? Kristina and Michael? You don't do stuff with them anymore?"

"They hate me," said Adriana, her voice starting to become choked. It was all hitting her now. What had happened to her life? Where had it all gone?

"Why do they hate you?"

"Because they're just like you," Adriana said, letting a few tears drop from her eyes. "They don't like me hanging out with Kyle because they think he's changed me."

"He has changed you, Adriana," said Claudia. "Don't you realize it at all?"

Adriana's face became hard. Claudia didn't know what she was talking about. "Why does everyone think that I'm not in control of my own life? Kyle didn't change me; I changed myself. And if people can't deal, then that's their problem, not mine."

"What about your future?" Claudia asked. Wasn't Adriana grasping anything she said? "Kyle's not gonna be around next year. He's gonna be in college. What are you gonna do then?"

"He's thinking about going to PCU, not that it's any of your business," Adriana snapped. "He won't leave me. He loves me."

_"I should've drowned you the day you were born!" Anthony yelled, making his way around the desk. "I should've known you'd be just like your mother! She was a snake, that one, and you are her spitting image! Why don't I just do to you what I did to her, hmm? Send you away so you'll never come back?" He grabbed Claudia's arm tightly and threw her into the wall. Her head banged against it, making her see double for a second. Once her vision righted itself, she started screaming again._

_ "Don't send me away, Daddy, please! I'll be good, I promise! Send Trevor away! He deserves it!" She cowered as Anthony came closer to her. She couldn't leave. Who would protect Johnny? Who would love him as much as she did?_

_ "Your mother said the same thing," he said, "when I was sending her away. She promised that she would never try to work her way into my business again. But I didn't believe her. Why should I? I knew she would undermine me. She was a conniving bitch!"_

_ "No, she wasn't!" Claudia shouted. She might not be able to defend herself, but she wouldn't let her father talk about her mother this way. "You loved her, Daddy, you did! You wouldn't have left her if Trevor didn't tell you to!"_

_ Anthony growled, dragging Claudia off of the floor by her long, dark hair. She whimpered at the pain, her face inches from his. "I would've left her anyway. She didn't know her place, just like you don't know yours."_

"How would you know that?" Claudia asked.

"He told me," said Adriana. "But he didn't have to tell me. I know he loves me. I can feel it."

"You guys are teenagers," said Claudia, trying to make sense of it all. "You can't even spell love."

"Neither can you," Adriana retorted. Claudia didn't say anything. Adriana was done. She couldn't take the arguing anymore. It was pointless; they were both equally stubborn. She didn't want to hear anything else that her mother had to say. She started walking towards the door. Claudia followed her.

_ "Anthony, what is going on in here?" asked a voice. Anthony turned around to see his wife standing at the door, his grip still tight on Claudia's hair. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the room, which was a complete mess. They landed on her husband and stepdaughter, and they grew even wider._

_ Anthony saw where she was looking, and finally let go of Claudia's hair. Claudia took several steps away from him, creating a safe distance where he couldn't touch her._

_ "Nothing," Anthony answered, his face still red. He turned viciously towards Claudia. "Claudia was just leaving."_

_ "Daddy, please don't send me away," Claudia begged in a whisper, her hands clasped together. Anthony took a step towards her, and she backed away even further._

_ Maria was confused. "Send her away? What happened?"_

_ "Nothing!" Claudia spat at her. God, did she hate her. She hated what she had done to her family. They used to be happy, and then she came and ripped them apart. The only decent thing she had ever done was have Johnny. But other than that, she was good for nothing. "Go away!"_

_ "Don't talk to your mother like that!" Anthony shouted at his daughter._

_ "She is not my mother!" Claudia yelled back through her tears. "My mother is gone because of her!" Before she could react, Anthony pulled back his right hand and hit her across the face again. Claudia screamed, a bloodcurdling sound that rang through the ears of everyone in the room._

_ "Anthony, stop!" Maria shouted. Claudia ran towards the door, shoving past Maria as she went, sobbing uncontrollably._

_ "Maria, go help her pack her bags," she heard Anthony order. "Claudia's gonna go stay with Rudy for awhile. I want her out of this house by tonight."_

_ "Don't even think about following me!" Claudia shouted, turning around to a surprised Maria, who had shadowed her into the hallway. "I hate you! You're the reason I'm getting sent away!"_

_ "What? Why?" Maria asked innocently. "Claudia, please talk to me. I want to help you."_

_ Claudia wanted to scream again. How could she stand there, acting so innocent, like she had done nothing wrong? She had seen how Trevor acted around Claudia, touching her, saying things he shouldn't have. But she didn't do anything. Didn't tell Anthony. Didn't tell Trevor to stop. She just watched. And every word out of Trevor's fat mouth was gospel to her, which made it gospel to Anthony. She had ruined everything._

_ "I hope you rot in hell," spat Claudia. "Daddy thinks my mom was the snake, when it's really you. You did this. You let Daddy smack me around. You let Trevor do all those awful things to me. All you do is watch. As long as your precious son doesn't get hurt, you don't care what happens to anyone else."_

_ "Claudia, I do care," said Maria. Lies, thought Claudia. She lied almost as well as she watched. "I can't do anything to stop Anthony or Trevor. They're too powerful."_

_ "Try growing a spine," scoffed Claudia. "Or, better yet, a heart."_

_ Maria just blinked. "I've tried being your friend, Claudia. Why do you keep shutting me out like this?"_

_ Was she stupid? "Just leave me alone." Claudia stomped up the stairs and through the hallways of the second floor, crying the whole way. As she passed Johnny's room, she heard his small voice ask, "Claudia, what's wrong?"_

_ Claudia turned around to see him sitting on the floor in his room, the toy piano that she had bought him for his eighth birthday out in front of him. His round face looked worried and scared as she walked in. "What happened? Why are you crying?"_

_ Oh, no, Claudia thought. She didn't want this moment to come, the moment when she'd have to say good-bye to her baby brother, the one person in her life who she trusted and loved. "Nothing," she said, sitting down on the floor next to him._

_ Johnny wasn't stupid. "I heard Dad yelling, and I heard loud noises. Are you in trouble?"_

_ Yeah, thought Claudia. Big trouble. "No, it's just…Johnny, I'm gonna have to take a little trip." A little trip that would last a lifetime._

_ Johnny's face became horrified. "Where? Why?"_

_ "I'm gonna go visit Uncle Rudy," said Claudia. This was killing her, sugarcoating it like this. Johnny trusted her, and now she was betraying him._

_ "How come?" asked Johnny, his voice becoming panicked._

_ Claudia sighed. "Daddy and I had an argument. You see, Johnny, he doesn't love me like he loves you. And your mommy doesn't love me either. They both want me out of the house, and there's nothing I can do to stop them."_

_ "For how long?" Johnny asked. "When are you coming back?"_

_ Probably never. "I'm not sure," said Claudia. "But I will. I promise." Lies, lies, lies, she told herself._

_ "What about Trevor?" asked Johnny. "You said he was gonna leave, too. Is he?"_

_ Claudia shook her head. "No, Johnny. I'm so sorry."_

_ Johnny's little face grew red as he said, "But you promised."_

_ "I know I did, but—"_

_ "So how do I know you'll keep your promise when you say you're coming back?" asked Johnny, his voice shaking._

_ He was so smart, thought Claudia. He saw right through her, just like everybody else. "I will, Johnny. I—"_

_ "No, you won't!" Johnny screamed, standing up. "You can't promise anything! You promised Dad would be better, but he's not!" He started shoving at her side. "Go away! Don't come back! You never keep your promises!"_

_ Claudia stood up, shocked and horrified. "Johnny—"_

_ "I said go!" he shouted. Claudia obeyed him. The second she was outside his room, he slammed the door shut. As she walked down the hallway, still in tears, she heard the distinct sounds of someone slamming a toy piano up against a wall._

"Leave me alone!" Adriana shouted as she walked up the stairs, Claudia right on her tail. "Stop acting like you know everything about me!"

"Adriana, I'm not done talking to you!" Claudia scolded, not listening to her daughter's orders. They arrived at the second floor, and Adriana turned into her bedroom. She was about to slam the door, but Claudia held it open.

"What part of 'go away' don't you understand?" asked Adriana.

"Adriana, I've been where you are right now," Claudia reasoned. "I know what it's like when people pretend to know you and what's best for you. But I'm not pretending. I'm your mother. I know you better than anybody." Once the words were out of her mouth, Claudia wished she could take them back.

Adriana couldn't believe she had said something like that. "Okay, oh wise and noble mother of mine, since you know everything about me, answer this: who is the one person in the world that I don't want talking to me right now?"

Now she was just being a smartass. "Look—"

"Unlike you, my parents, my real parents, they knew when to take a hint. They knew when I needed to be alone. They also knew I was capable of making my own choices, and they respected the choices I made."

"I'm sure your parents would have reacted just like me if they walked in on you and Kyle…you know…" said Claudia.

Adriana felt her eyes start to water. "But we'll never know that, will we? Because they're dead." While Claudia lost focus, digesting what her daughter had just said, Adriana took the opportunity to finally slam her door.

Claudia didn't try to open the door, even though she knew it didn't have a lock. She was tired. She couldn't take another second of arguing with Adriana.

In her room, Adriana looked around for something to throw, something that would make enough noise for Claudia to hear it. She looked over at her nightstand and picked up one of the picture frames, the one with the picture of her and Claudia at the Yankees game. With all her might, she chucked it at the door. She felt better when she heard the _thunk _against the wood and the sound of the glass breaking.

Claudia heard it, except, to her, it wasn't the sound of a picture being thrown. She heard a toy piano as it made contact with a hard surface.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter Fifteen_

"I swear, Señora is out to get me," said Adriana. She and Kyle were all bundled up against the February chill as they walked hand-in-hand through the snow-covered park, a new layer of the powdery white stuff falling around them. The snow Port Charles was getting this year was out of control. Every time the last layer finally melted, a new one would replace it. Adriana didn't mind it though; she loved snow. Unfortunately, it was never enough to close school. Being an upstate New York town, Port Charles was well equipped with the necessities to fight a few flurries. She wished they could have a blizzard, though. That way, she could get a break from the hellhole that had been named Madison Prep.

"You did call her a bitch. To her face. In front of the whole class." Kyle found the situation hilarious, except for the part where Adriana got a C detention, which meant she had to stay at school until four-thirty.

"She was asking for it," Adriana argued. "She was the one that started yelling at me about the project in front of everybody. And I'm sure it's not the first time someone's called her that."

"Yeah, and they probably got a C detention, too," said Kyle. "What's Claudia gonna say?"

Adriana shrugged. She and Claudia hadn't said a word to each other for two whole weeks, not since "the incident." Adriana was getting away with everything. She got in trouble at school, the principal called home, and Claudia never confronted her about it. She came in way after curfew, and Claudia didn't say anything. Adriana could probably burn down half the town, and Claudia wouldn't bat an eye.

"Don't worry about Claudia," she said to Kyle. "She doesn't care about me anymore. Not that she ever really did."

Kyle didn't say anything. The first week after Claudia had seen them together, Adriana had been pretty quiet and obviously upset. Now, however, she was acting like she didn't care, but Kyle could tell it was just an act. Adriana did care what Claudia thought of her, but had too much pride to show it. So, she acted out, hoping to get some kind of attention, but Claudia did nothing. It was this behavior that had pushed Kyle into making a final and unchangeable decision in his father's plan.

Kyle loved Adriana. There was no doubt about it. Watching her put herself into situations that could jeopardize her future, just to get Claudia to pay attention to her, was killing him. Claudia deserved to be taken down for what she was doing to Adriana. And Adriana wouldn't care. She would probably be happy that Claudia was losing everything. She would feel like revenge had served itself. She might still be upset with Kyle for using her for so long, but it was a risk he was willing to take. Something had to be done about Claudia, and it would happen soon.

After coming home from Adriana's that night, his father had badgered him, probing him for answers that were taking too long to come. While Kyle explained that there still hadn't been any progress, he started to realize that he was wrong. He had the exact knowledge that would bring Claudia down. He told his father, who thought the plan was genius. All it needed was the right timing, which would come any day.

"I don't want to talk about Claudia," said Adriana, bringing Kyle out of his scheming. "There are so many more pleasant things in the world. Like…it's snowing. You know how much I love snow."

"Yeah," said Kyle, still a little distracted.

Adriana noticed. She stopped walking, pulled her hand from Kyle's, and folded her arms. "Am I boring you?"

"What? No," said Kyle shaking his head. "I was just thinking about how red Señora's face got when you called her a bitch."

Adriana laughed. "It did get pretty red, didn't it? She was probably just furious that I didn't say it in Spanish. Maybe I could've gotten some extra credit points if I did that. God knows I could use some." They started walking again as Adriana forgot about Kyle's strange behavior. After a few more steps, however, she started to feel a little funny, like her balance was off, even though it wasn't.

Kyle felt Adriana stop again and turned towards her, concerned. Her eyes were a little out of focus and her face was slightly pale. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Adriana, nodding, but the nodding made it worse. "Just a little dizzy."

"Dizzy?" questioned Kyle. She had been fine a second ago. "From what?"

"I don't know," said Adriana. Her vision started to become mushed together, the white of the snow almost blending in with Kyle's features.

"Maybe the cold is getting to you," said Kyle. "Why don't we go back to the car and we'll go somewhere warm?"

"I just need to sit down," said Adriana. She didn't think she could make it to the car. She could see the blurry outline of a bench some ten feet away from her. At least she thought it was ten feet. Her depth perception wasn't very good at the moment. Maybe if she sat down she'd feel better.

"Okay," she heard Kyle say, but it was faint, as if he were saying it from across a far distance. She took one step forward, and then everything went black.


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter Sixteen_

"Here you go," said Kyle as he walked back into the exam room, handing Adriana a cup of water. Adriana took it and gulped the water down in one go, wiping her mouth and gasping for breath when she was finished.

"Thirsty?" asked Kyle, laughing.

Actually, she really wasn't that thirsty. Just nervous. Drinking the water gave her something to do while she waited here on the table in the exam room. She hadn't been out for too long (maybe ten seconds or so), but Kyle had insisted on taking her to the hospital to make sure she was okay. She protested the whole ride there, but deep down she knew it was for the best.

Adriana felt fine now. A little lightheaded, but other than that she was okay. They had taken some blood and were running all sorts of tests on it now. She wasn't quite sure what had caused her to faint. She hadn't eaten a lot that day, so maybe her blood sugar was low? They'd find out soon.

"You scared the hell out of me," said Kyle, holding her hand. "What happened?"

Adriana shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "I was feeling fine and then, two seconds later, I'm lying on the ground while you try to perform mouth-to-mouth."

Kyle grinned sheepishly for a second, but his face turned back to serious fast. "Are you sick?"

"I don't think so," said Adriana. "Like I said, I felt fine. It was really weird."

Kyle grinned. "Maybe getting a C detention from Señora stressed you out so much that you passed out."

Adriana laughed. "I really hope it hasn't come to that. That means she's getting to me, and I'd rather her think that I don't give a damn about what she does with her time."

Kyle was still trying to figure out what could have caused Adriana to just collapse like that. "Do you think it was the cold? I mean, I'm not a doctor, but—"

"Honestly, Kyle, I don't know," Adriana insisted. "I don't know if a long exposure to extreme cold weather can make someone feel sick like I did, but it's a possibility."

"I just hope that whatever it is, you'll get over it," said Kyle, smiling at her.

Adriana squeezed his hand tighter. "Thanks. I hope so, too. I'm sure it's nothing serious." At that moment, the door to the exam room opened as a young Asian doctor with a stethoscope around her neck walked into the room, a clipboard in her hand and an unreadable expression on her face.

"We have your test results," she said, giving Kyle a quick glance.

Kyle took the hint. "I'll wait outside." He started to leave, but Adriana pulled him back.

"No, you can stay," she said. She turned towards the doctor. "Can he stay?"

"If you'd like him to," she said curtly.

Kyle shook his head. "No, it's okay. This isn't really my business." Adriana looked at him forlornly. "Don't worry," he said, trying to calm her fears. "I'll be right outside. Everything'll be fine." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and departed, closing the door behind him.

Adriana looked at the doctor nervously. "So, what's wrong with me? Am I gonna live?"

The doctor didn't smile. Her face was very serious. "Adriana, my name is Dr. Kelly Lee. I'm an ob-gyn here at General Hospital."

Adriana frowned. "Ob-gyn?"

"An ob-gyn—"

"I know what it is," Adriana said, cutting her off. "I just don't understand why you're here. I mean, why an ob-gyn? Why not another doctor?"

Kelly sighed. She had given this news to so many girls Adriana's age and even younger. And she would never forget the way their faces would drop in horror when they heard what she had to say. "Adriana, I'm not going to beat around the bush. Your test results were one hundred percent accurate." This was always the hard part. She always had to stop and prepare herself for what she was about to say.

Adriana couldn't take the silence. "What's wrong with me? Tell me."

Finally, Kelly got it out. "Adriana, you're pregnant."


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter Seventeen_

Pregnant. The one word that had been running through Adriana's head ever since it had come out of Dr. Lee's mouth. It was the scariest word in the world right now. What was even scarier was the crap that would come with it.

It was well past midnight, and Adriana sat in the study, not caring if she was allowed to or not. She had a fire going and a cashmere blanket wrapped around her, but she still felt like an icicle. She had never been so cold in her life. And she couldn't think of a way to make it stop.

After going to the hospital and hearing that horrible news, Adriana had Kyle drive her home. When he had asked what was wrong, she lied, telling him that she had naturally low blood sugar, and that she needed to eat more to keep it at a healthy level. Before stopping at her house, they took a pit stop at McDonald's and he made her order a burger and fries. She ate it, even though she wasn't hungry, and held her puke in until she finally got home.

Claudia had been surprised to see her home before curfew but, of course, didn't say anything. Adriana had gone to her room and didn't come out until she heard Claudia go to bed. When she did, she went downstairs to the office, started the fire, wrapped herself in the blanket, and sat down next to the fireplace to think.

So many people and things factored into the situation, and Adriana needed to separate them all in her mind and deal with them individually. She was pregnant. There was a human life growing inside of her right now, and she didn't know what to feel. They had studied this in her ninth grade biology class. She knew all the technicalities of pregnancy: how it began, what happened as the baby developed, and how it ended. But they only ever talked about the baby. They never talked about the mother. They didn't talk about what would happen or what you should do when you became the mother. It was pure ignorance, thinking that high school students weren't having unprotected sex. Sure, they talked about it health class, but all they said was, "Don't do it." That wasn't helpful. No one ever said what to do if you did do "it." They just told you not to. Well, what happened when you did? What were you supposed to do?

Adriana felt so lost and alone. She had had "the talk" with her parents once. She remembered it very clearly. When it had happened, it was as awkward as awkward could get. But now, looking back, Adriana found it pretty hilarious. She was in the eighth grade, and she had had a couple of friends over for a sleepover. Her one friend brought the original _American Pie_. Thinking that her parents were asleep and wouldn't bother them, they watched it. They didn't get all of the jokes, but understood the general gist. During the trademark scene where Jim gets it on with a pie was the time when Adriana's mother decided to get up for a glass of water. She passed the living room and the three girls dying of laughter and saw what they were watching. Adriana hadn't been aware of any of this until after her friends had left the following morning, when her mother and father insisted that they needed to have "the talk." Adriana had been completely humiliated, but eventually got over it when the subject was never brought up again.

So, besides being caught watching a movie like _American Pie_ and the few words that Adriana had scribbled down in biology, she didn't know anything. She had never had a friend who was pregnant. In fact, no one in her grade was pregnant or had ever been, that she knew of. There was no one she could talk to who could give her advice. Actually, there was one person, but Adriana wasn't on speaking terms with her at the moment, and now wouldn't be a good time to start.

But if she did decide to bring the subject up, what would Claudia do? With their already unsteady relationship taking a downward spiral, Adriana couldn't decide whether Claudia would be supportive or would throw her out on the streets. She'd understand where Adriana was coming from; after all, she herself was pregnant at an early and inconvenient age. So, maybe she'd be empathetic and try to help. But what if that wasn't the case? What if it was just a huge round of "I told you so" that eventually ended in the two of them never mending their relationship? That was the more likely outcome. Claudia had been furious when she saw that Adriana and Kyle had just slept together. No way would she change emotional directions when she found out that there had been consequences.

Kyle. What would he do? He was the father. Adriana would have to tell him. He had every right to know. And, besides, he'd notice when Adriana started to gain weight. Everyone would. This wouldn't be a secret for long, so why make it one? She'd tell him, for sure, but what would he do? Would he want to be involved, or would he leave her to take care of the baby on her own? If he did leave her, she'd be all alone with this baby. But would he? He said he loved her, but that was before this catastrophe. Would his feelings change when he realized that it wasn't just her that he had to love, but their child, also? Would he care too much about his future to have a baby and a girlfriend hold him back? Adriana couldn't imagine it. She could only see him staying with her, trying to support her through one of the hardest parts of her life.

Adriana put her face in her hands, letting a couple of tears fall. She had never felt like this before. She felt so alone, like everyone else in the world had disappeared. She felt like no one would understand or try to support her in this. The tears that fell were silent calls for help. She wanted somebody, anybody, to tell her what to do. She couldn't think. She could barely breathe. Despite the life inside her, she had never felt so empty. Her heart felt like a gaping hole, sucking in any happiness that she had had left after her parents' death. She tried to place her hands on her stomach, to assure the baby that everything was okay, even though she wasn't convincing herself. But she couldn't do it. She felt like if she did, she would be giving her child false hope, telling it that everything was under control when the world was crashing down around her.

Her child. No matter who else would become a factor in this dilemma, this baby was hers. She was one hundred percent responsible for it. She had to make a decision about this pregnancy, and fast, because if she didn't, someone or something else would.

Dr. Lee had said that she had options. Adriana could barely wrap her mind around any of them. The first was that she could have and raise the baby. While she knew that this was the traditional way of going about things, she didn't know how it would work. Claudia wouldn't be too happy about a baby in the house. She might not even let it happen. She might force Adriana to move out and take care of the kid herself. If that happened, Adriana would be completely dependent on Kyle. But what if he decided to leave her? She'd be all alone. She had lost her job, so she'd have no way to pay for everything that the baby would need. And, being pregnant, it would be almost impossible to get a new job. They'd both starve. And, while trying to take care of a baby with no money whatsoever, Adriana would be ruining her own future, which was already halfway down the toilet. She would never go to college, get a real job, or start a real family. Keeping the baby didn't work out for anybody, especially the child.

She could give it up for adoption. This would be good for the baby. It would get a loving home and a family that really wanted and cared for it. That was what had happened to Adriana, and she didn't regret a day that she had had with her adopted parents. But what if she never saw her baby again? What if the parents that adopted it lived far away, like in California or something? The child could grow up to be a genius, or an amazing sports player, or a musical prodigy, and she'd have no clue. She wouldn't get any rights or claim, because she hadn't raised it. And what if Kyle wanted to be part of the baby's life? He wouldn't want to watch Adriana give it away. So, adoption was the best choice for the baby, but for Adriana and Kyle, it could be the worst.

Finally (and this was the option that Adriana had seriously been considering), there was abortion. Definition: the quickest and easiest way to get rid of a problem. She wouldn't have to tell Claudia or Kyle that she was pregnant. She could simply go in, get the operation, and leave, and no one would be any the wiser. Adriana had never supported abortion; she was pro-choice, but always promised to never do it herself. But she had never been placed in this situation before. Now that she was the one with the unplanned pregnancy, she understood why people did it. It was the easiest solution and worked out for everyone. Everyone, except the baby. Adriana couldn't help but think that she had started out as a problem, and she had been given a chance. She couldn't imagine not being able to live life just because Claudia took the coward's way out. This child that she was carrying could be the one to find the cure for cancer. It could bring about world peace. Adriana knew that if she went with abortion, she'd think about what amazing things her child could have done if she had let it live.

Adriana was so lost. She couldn't make this decision by herself. A life was at stake. She needed a second opinion. The question was this: whose? Claudia's or Kyle's? Claudia had been through this before, so she would usually be the more reasonable choice. But things between her and Adriana weren't so hot right now, and that might make her choose an option that she normally wouldn't have. Kyle, however, while he had never had a pregnant girlfriend before, loved Adriana. He'd help her make the decision that was right for everybody, especially the baby. At this point in her life, Adriana valued his opinion much more than she valued Claudia's.

It was settled. Adriana would tell Kyle about the baby before she did anything, and he would help her through this.

At least, she hoped he would.


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter Eighteen_

For every time the thunder cracked outside the window of the library, Adriana became more and more nervous. She did not see the day's storm as a good omen.

Kyle had gotten himself a C detention for cutting English for the third time that week in order to see Adriana during her free period. Even though she hadn't shown it, Adriana had been extremely upset. Today was the day that she was going to tell Kyle about the baby, and she had been hoping to get it over with right after school. But he had to sit in a classroom until four-thirty, so she just agreed to meet him at the library after his sentence was served. A wait had never felt so long to her in her life. Each second ticked by slower than the last. She needed to do this before she chickened out. Again.

The past two weeks had been complete hell for Adriana. Every day she would wake up and promise herself that that would be the day, the day when she would tell Kyle that she was pregnant. But each day seemed like the wrong one, for one reason or another. One day he had a huge test to study for, and she didn't want to distract him. Then one day he'd be in a really good mood that she didn't want to ruin, or a really bad mood that she didn't want to make worse. As the two weeks went on, Adriana started realizing that she was just making excuses. In fact, she was surprised that she didn't make today's bad weather a reason for backing out.

Thunder sounded again. It had been storming all day. The beginning of March signaled warmer weather, meaning that the snow had stopped and rain had started. It had drizzled for at least five minutes every day for the past week or so, but it hadn't stormed like this yet. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed incessantly, providing a gloomier-than-usual atmosphere for the Port Charles inhabitants.

Adriana heard her stomach growl, but ignored it. She had barely been eating anything for the past two weeks. She felt hungry, but the second she had a bite of food, she felt sick and wouldn't eat anything again for another three hours, when the cycle would repeat itself. She had a constant headache and could barely concentrate in class, not that it would help her grades at all. She hadn't done a homework assignment in weeks. She hadn't taken notes in months. And now, all she could think about was Claudia, Kyle, and the baby. The three of them consumed her every thought. If she wasn't worried about diaper expenses, she was thinking about Kyle's reaction, or Claudia's impending hatred, or what people at school would say if and when it got out. She wasn't sleeping either. She couldn't get her mind to stop racing with "what if this, what if that." Her lack of sleep formed bags under her eyes with the help of all the crying she had been doing when she was alone. Her face and skin were so pale. She looked like she was going to keel over and die any second, and she felt like it, too. On more than one occasion, a teacher had asked if she needed to go down to the nurse, but Adriana refused to go for fear of the nurse discovering the real problem and calling Claudia. It was all just so messed up, and Adriana felt that if she didn't tell Kyle and get some of this weight off of her shoulders soon, she would explode from the pressure.

Thunder again. Where was Kyle? Adriana looked at the clock on the wall of the library, since she had already been yelled at twice by a librarian for having her cell phone out. Quarter of five. He should be here soon. Adriana had been sitting at one of the work tables for the entire two hours she had been here, trying to focus on what she was going to say.

"Hey," said a voice behind her, and Adriana jumped out of her skin. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't been aware of the people around her. She turned around in her seat to see Kyle standing behind her, his backpack slung casually on his right shoulder like it always was.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, noticing her shocked reaction to his voice.

"No, it's okay," said Adriana, feeling her voice shaking slightly. Why was she so afraid? She could do this. Kyle would be supportive. He had to be.

Kyle heard the shake in her voice. "What's wrong?"

Adriana looked around. The library was fairly crowded. There were a lot of students, some from Madison Prep, some not, scattered about. Some were in study groups, others alone. There was the occasional librarian, stalking around to make sure that no one was eating or using their cell phones. Why had she chosen the library? She hadn't wanted to do this so publicly. She looked back at Kyle. "Follow me." She stood up, grabbed him by the hand, and dragged him past the many shelves of books, trying to find a section that was empty. The science section was unpopulated, so she pulled him to the very back, where she could be sure no one would hear them.

"Sorry, I just wanted to find somewhere private," she said, her eyes darting around, watching out for any unexpected trespassers.

Kyle smiled with false enlightenment as he dropped his bag to the floor and wrapped his arms around Adriana, pressing his lips hard into hers and moving his hands to the bottom of her uniform's skirt. Adriana's headache floated away for a few seconds as she kissed him back, not caring who might come around the corner and see them. But it didn't last for long when she remembered the real reason for bringing him back here.

"Kyle, stop!" she whispered, shoving him away and adjusting her skirt. Kyle looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"We're not gonna do this in the freaking library!" Adriana snapped, trying to keep her voice down.

"Sorry," said Kyle meaning it. "I thought—"

"What kind of hoe-bag do you think I am?"

"I didn't say you were a hoe-bag," he retorted, "but after last week, the library doesn't seem that weird."

Adriana cringed. Last week had not been her smartest decision. Kyle had sensed her bad mood, and the two of them had agreed on doing it behind the bleachers at a school basketball game. They hadn't been caught, but it still hadn't been a good idea.

"Look, forget about last week," she said. "That's not—"

"Why?" asked Kyle, interrupting her. She was getting frustrated. If she didn't tell him soon, she didn't think she'd ever be able to. "Last week was fun." He smiled, starting to come towards her again, but she backed away. She couldn't keep doing this.

"No, Kyle, this is serious," she said, not meeting his eye.

Kyle's grin immediately turned into a concerned frown. "What's going on?"

Just do it, Adriana told herself. Get it over with. "Kyle, what I'm about to tell you is huge, and you have to promise to hear me out. Okay?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, I promise." Adriana didn't say anything, her words slowly slipping backwards and getting caught in her throat. He cocked his head to the side, trying to make sense of it all. "What is it?"

Adriana felt tears start to well up in her eyes, but wouldn't let them fall. Just say it. "Remember a couple weeks ago, when I passed out, and I told you it was just my blood sugar levels?"

"Yeah," said Kyle. He came to a realization. "Is it more serious? Are you sick?"

Yes, its way more serious, thought Adriana. "I lied," she said, her voice becoming choked.

Kyle heard her voice catch, and moved closer towards her. This time, Adriana didn't pull away. "Hey, it's okay," he said, holding her hands in his and trying to look her in the eye. She kept her face directed at her shoes. "Just tell me what happened."

"I don't have a low blood sugar condition, or whatever I told you," said Adriana in a small voice, letting a solitary tear fall from her left eye. "I'm pregnant."

Kyle froze. He felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of him. He could not have heard her correctly. Pregnant? No, it was impossible. Before she passed out, they had only had sex the one time. She couldn't be pregnant. No, this could not be happening.

When he didn't say anything, Adriana finally met his eyes. They were blank with shock. She couldn't stand the silence. "Say something, please."

What could he say? He was watching everything fall to pieces before him. Taking out the complication that he had been lying to her for months, he considered what was happening. He was a senior in high school with a pregnant junior girlfriend. People would know. It wasn't a secret that they were going out. What was he supposed to do? How could he go to college and begin his life when he had a kid running around that he had to take care of? What would his friends say? Or worse: what would his father say?

His father. The plan. His lies. Now everything was ruined. He would have to tell his father that he had slept with Adriana, and that he was having a child. He'd have to tell Adriana who he really was. They couldn't take down Claudia anymore, not with Adriana and an unborn baby as possible collateral damage. No, this wasn't supposed to happen. It couldn't. It ruined everything. He had ruined everything.

Still silence from Kyle. Adriana was getting worried. Sure, he'd be shocked, but he hadn't said anything. "Please, Kyle, I need you to say something. This baby isn't just mine. It's yours, too. It needs you. I need you." Her tears were flowing now, making it hard for her to talk. "I don't know what to do. There are so many options, and I need you to help me. I can't do this alone. I've been trying for the past two weeks to do it by myself, and I can't. I haven't been eating. I haven't been sleeping. All I can think about is alone with no one to help me. Please, Kyle, help me." She took his right hand and pressed it to her stomach. "This baby needs you. You're its father."

It took Kyle a slow second before he realized where his hand was. He couldn't do this. He needed to go somewhere and think. The silent library was suddenly being consumed with deafening sound. He felt as if the walls were closing in. He felt like he needed to escape. "I have to go." He pulled his hand away from Adriana's stomach as quickly as if it had been burned and went to pick up his bag.

Adriana let out a sob. "No! You can't leave me, Kyle! I can't do this without you!" Her hand clasped his elbow, but he pulled it away, not wanting to be touched. He started to walk out of the science section, with Adriana right behind him.

"Kyle, please stop!" she shouted. Heads turned in their direction, but Adriana didn't care. She felt like screaming at the top of her lungs for him to stay, just so he would listen. But he didn't turn around. He just kept heading for the door.

"Kyle!" Adriana shouted again.

"Shh!" a librarian hushed loudly from the circulation desk.

"You shh!" Adriana shot back, not caring who she offended or disturbed. Kyle pushed open the library door, letting in the pounding sounds of the rain. Adriana followed him outside, letting herself get soaked.

"Kyle, you get back here right now!" The freezing rain drenched her through her uniform, but she didn't care. Her shout caused Kyle to stop, but he still wouldn't turn around. Well, thought Adriana, at least he was listening.

"You can't just walk away!" she shouted, making sure she was heard over the rain. "You wanna know why? Because I can't. I have to carry this baby around with me all the time. I can't just leave it. And neither can you. I can't take care of it by myself. Please don't walk away."

Kyle finally turned around to look at her, the pounding rain and flashing lightning becoming insignificant. She looked so desperate, standing there, her brown hair soaked and her eyes pleading. He looked at her stomach. He couldn't see it, but inside, a child was growing. His child. He looked back at Adriana's eyes. She needed him more than she ever had before. But he couldn't do this. Not now. Not ever. He turned around and started walking towards his car without a word.

Adriana let out a shriek of desperation and loss. "Fine, walk away! I don't need you! And neither does this baby! I don't want you to be a father! I'll do this all by myself!" But the words made her feel sick, because she didn't mean any of them. She did need Kyle, so much. She was lost without him. He had been her everything for so long, and now he was just walking away from everything they shared, including their child. Adriana felt her stomach start to twist, and she covered her mouth as she ran to the bushes to throw up. Once she finished, she wiped her mouth and collapsed on the wet grass, her tears blending in with the raindrops that landed on her face. Thunder clapped loudly above her head. Now she really was alone.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter Nineteen_

The next week was one of the worst in Adriana's life, and that was saying something. Every day she spiraled deeper and deeper into a depression that seemed to have no end.

School was the worst. Now, without Kyle, she had nobody. She felt so alone, walking through the halls without that familiar hand in hers, skipping gym and not having anyone to meet. She hadn't actually seen Kyle since that day at the library. She never passed him the halls and he hadn't shown up for Spanish. In fact, Adriana didn't even think he was coming to school anymore. That hurt, the fact that he couldn't even bring himself to be in the same building as her.

Just because her main distraction was gone didn't mean that her academic life was getting any better. If anything, it was getting worse. Adriana slept through most of her classes, exhausted all the time. When she got home from school, she threw her backpack in a corner and didn't even touch one of her books. She'd just crawl under her covers and sleep, wake up sometime in the middle of the night, get a snack from downstairs, throw up, and go back to bed. She had no interest in her appearance whatsoever; her hair was a tangled mess, her makeup remained untouched, and her showers were too quick to be hygienic. She felt like she was floating through life, only waking up for school each day because it was automatic.

Her relationship with Claudia barely existed anymore. They never passed each other in the halls of the enormous Zacchara estate, much less even speak to each other. They were more like two people living in the same apartment building that had never met. Adriana wanted so much to talk to Claudia about the baby, to try and get some support, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Claudia would be nothing but mad, and Adriana didn't need that. It would only make everything worse.

Every day, Adriana considered going to the hospital and getting an abortion. It would be so easy, and it would turn her life around. She'd start talking to Claudia again. She and Kyle could reunite. She might even get her friends back and her grades up. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill the little life inside her. She was a coward.

She needed help. She hadn't gone to Lainey in ages. Maybe she should start going again? Lainey wasn't allowed to judge, and that was what Adriana needed. She needed to talk, but she didn't need to be pitied or put down. But Lainey didn't know her. Adriana needed a friend, someone who would know exactly what to do. But none existed. Her friends hated her. Her boyfriend wouldn't talk to her. Her mother…she wasn't even going to go there, because that was not an option. There was no one who would listen.

It wasn't until Saturday when Adriana finally figured out someone who she could talk to. It was early morning, and Adriana was feeling sicker than ever. She had just tried to choke down some breakfast, but it had come right back up, and she couldn't force herself to eat anything else. Her usual headache throbbed even harder, and her stomach twisted with cramps that were uncomfortable, but not unbearable. She was sitting at the window in her room, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. It was one of the nicest days it had been in a long time; the sun was shining, and the previous day's rain was evaporating quickly. It was a great day to be outside, but Adriana wasn't in the mood. She just wanted to wallow in her usual self-pity until she decided to try and eat again. As she sat there, depressed and alone, her hand moved itself to the silver chain that hung around her neck. She hadn't clutched her necklace in a long time; in fact, she had almost forgotten that it was there. It was an automatic thing to put it on in the morning. Her hand brushed against the silver locket from Kyle, and she felt her heart stop beating for a second. She had been thinking about Kyle constantly this past week, wondering if he would ever talk to her again or tell her that he loved her. Would he change his mind and step up as the father to the baby that she was carrying? She tried not think about what would happen if he didn't.

After fingering the locket for the second, Adriana's hands moved to the ring right next to it. Her mother's engagement ring. The ring that her father had given his wife. The ring that symbolized their love for each other. Adriana hadn't thought about her parents in awhile, and she felt guilty. As her fingers continued clutching the ring, a thought jumped into her mind. She pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket (she didn't know why she carried it around anymore; no one ever called or texted her) and opened the calendar. March sixth.

Adriana felt a tear slide down her face. March sixth. One year ago today she was probably one of the happiest people in the world. She had two parents that loved her. She had gotten to see more of the world's sights than most people saw in a lifetime. March sixth was also the day that her bubble of ignorance had been broken and she had been shoved into reality.

Adriana couldn't believe it. Had it really been a year? It felt like yesterday that she had watched her parents walk out of the hotel room, never again to return. It could not have been a year. A year since she had woken up from a nightmare to an empty suite? A year since she had been frantically calling and looking for the parents that hadn't come back? A year since she had let out that scream when she had seen them shot dead?

So much had changed in a year. Adriana had a new home. She had new parents and a new outlook on her life. She had had her first serious boyfriend. And now, she was pregnant. A year ago, if someone had told her that this was the way that her life was going to turn out, she would have told them that they were crazy. She would never ditch friends and school for a guy. She wouldn't even dream of carrying a child. And she definitely couldn't imagine the feeling of a broken and shattered heart.

A year. Three hundred and sixty-five days that had made all the difference in the world. It made a difference between the living and the dead, the happy and the sad, the loved and the hated.

Adriana was struck with a sudden thought. There was someone she could talk to.

*

"Hey, guys." Adriana hadn't stood in this spot for quite some time, not since the beginning of the school year, when she had still been in control of her life. A pit of guilt hollowed itself out in her stomach. These people, her parents, had raised her so well, and she couldn't even provide the common decency of visiting them at their grave. "I'm sorry I haven't visited in awhile. Things are—well, they're really crazy right now." Adriana looked around. The cemetery was, for the most part, empty, so she didn't have to worry about someone coming along and hearing her talk to her dead parents. Not that it really mattered. "I know that's no excuse, but—" Adriana looked around again, double checking to make sure she really was alone. Once she confirmed it, she lowered herself to the grass. This was going to take awhile.

"You guys are probably really ashamed of me," said Adriana, picking at blades of grass. Looking at the headstone was too hard. "I mean, look what happened to my life. I'm failing pretty much everything, I lost all my friends, I'm pregnant…" She trailed off, thinking about what to say next. "You raised me so much better than this. You always taught me to get good grades and to be a good person and make smart decisions, and…well…I've been completely disrespecting all the values that you showed me, and I'm sorry." Adriana started to feel the tears roll down her cheeks. "If you were alive, I'd probably be in so much trouble right now." A shadow of a smile showed itself through her crying. "But, if you were alive, this probably wouldn't be happening." It was true. If Sonny hadn't killed them and Adriana hadn't found out about Claudia, she wouldn't even be in Port Charles right now. She'd be somewhere else, happy and not pregnant.

"I'm really scared," wept Adriana. "I'm so afraid of everything. I don't know how to take care of a baby, especially not by myself. My boyfriend left me, and I don't know how to tell Claudia. I just—I don't know what to do and I wish you were here to tell me." Her voice started catching in her throat. "I'm just so lost and alone and I—" She stopped talking when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. She whipped her head around to see a man with spiky brown hair and the bluest eyes you could ever imagine stop in his tracks when she faced him. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, a leather jacket, and motorcycle boots. He was absolutely gorgeous, but Adriana was in too much of a mood to notice or care.

"I'm sorry," he said, realizing that he had interrupted something.

Adriana shook her head, wiping her tears as she stood up. She felt a shot of pain jolt her stomach, but she ignored it. "No, it's okay," she said. "I probably look like a crazy person, talking to myself."

The man shook his head, holding his hands together in front of him. "No, it's okay. Everyone talks to the dead."

Adriana looked at him skeptically. He didn't look like someone to do that sort of thing. "Even you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I was actually just talking to my sister." He nodded his head in the direction he had come.

"I'm sorry," said Adriana, knowing full-well how much the loss of a family member hurt. "How did she die?"

The man started to look a bit uncomfortable, and Adriana wished that she hadn't tried to make conversation. He didn't really seem to like talking. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's okay," he said. He looked down at the ground. "She was, uh, strangled a couple years ago." He looked back at Adriana, his blue eyes piercing into her brown ones.

Now Adriana really felt for him, and was surprised at how much she had in common with this stranger. "I'm sorry. I know how that feels." She took a quick glance at the headstone behind her. "My parents were killed, too."

His eyes widened ever so slightly, as if he was bad at conveying any emphatic emotions. "Your parents?"

Adriana nodded. "Yep. They were murdered by Sonny Corinthos."

The man obviously recognized the name. His eyes grew even wider as he repeated, "Sonny Corinthos?"

"Yeah, you know him?" asked Adriana. Even though she didn't know this man, she almost wanted to hate him for knowing Sonny. Guilt by association. She felt she was entitled to it at the moment.

"Of course," said the man. "I'm Jason Morgan."

Now it was Adriana's turn to open her eyes wide. "You're Jason Morgan?" She had heard so much about it from Claudia. He was the man who had taken over the business after Sonny left town. He had been Sonny's right-hand man at one point. That meant he had been loyal to him. Did he have a part in the murder of Adriana's parents? Now she really did hate him.

"I'm Adriana," she said. She didn't stick out her hand. He didn't deserve the respect.

Jason recognized the name. "Adriana? As in Claudia's daughter?"

So he had heard. Adriana suddenly started to feel very nervous. She was alone in a cemetery with a mob boss who had once been under the control of Sonny Corinthos. Things were peaceful between his organization and Claudia's, but what if he had some kind of resentment towards her for sending the cops after his best friend? It wasn't impossible. Adriana felt her stomach jolt again, harder than the last time, but she still didn't pay it any attention. There were other things to worry about right now.

"Yeah, lucky me," said Adriana, trying to play it cool and not show her nervousness.

Jason frowned, confused. He didn't really like Claudia, but the way Adriana had responded made him think that she hated her mother almost as much as he did. Should he say something about it? This girl seemed really alone at the moment. Maybe she could use someone to talk to. He'd do his best. "You don't really like Claudia?" he asked.

Adriana snorted. "Let's just say we have our differences."

"About what?" asked Jason, mildly curious.

Adriana hesitated. Did she really want to spill her sob story to a reformed hit-man who had once worked for her parents' killer? He was the only living person around at the moment who would listen. Maybe it was worth it. "It's a long story, but the point is that I don't really want anything to do with Claudia anymore. I'm just sick of how she treats me. She acts like she knows everything about and what's best for me, when she doesn't. She can't keep her nose out of my business, she's always disagreeing with me—" Adriana stopped, getting choked up by returning tears. She looked back at the headstone again. "The only people that really know me are dead, thanks to your boss."

Jason was taken aback by this comment, and he felt he needed to defend himself. He didn't like being associated with Sonny after he had murdered the Browns. "I don't condone what Sonny did," he said. Adriana turned back around to listen to him. "In fact, he asked me to kill your father, but I said no, because he was an innocent man."

Adriana almost didn't want to believe him. "Really?"

Jason nodded. "And I know how you feel about Claudia."

"You do?" asked Adriana, extremely doubtful.

"Yeah," said Jason, ready to tell his own story. "Awhile back I was in an accident, and I was in a coma for awhile and I lost my entire memory. I didn't know who I was, who my family was…I thought everyone around me was just pretending to know me. I thought they were all strangers. They were telling me these things about myself that I didn't remember, and I ended up shutting them out completely. That's why I joined up with Sonny. I wanted a life of my own where those strangers couldn't try and control me." He looked Adriana dead in the eye. "That was the biggest mistake of my life."

Adriana saw where he was going with this, and didn't like it. "I'll never join someone like Sonny. He's the reason my parents are dead. I don't want to help someone like him."

"That's not what I'm saying," corrected Jason. "I'm saying that you should never shut your family out, because they really do know what's best for you, even if they seem like strangers. Because without family, you don't have anything or anyone telling you what to do, and you could end up making a serious mistake."

Adriana had made a serious mistake. It was growing in her stomach at this very moment. Maybe Jason was right. If she had listened to Claudia's advice and had been careful with Kyle, this all could have been avoided. "Thanks," she said to Jason. "I think I really needed that."

A shadow of a smile crept onto Jason's face. "You're welcome. I just don't want anyone making the same mistake as me."

Adriana was about to respond, when a third shot of pain hit her stomach, but this was different from the last one. It took over her entire body, forcing her to bend over and clutch her stomach. It felt like something was gnawing at her side with sharp teeth that wouldn't let go. She had never felt such pain before in her entire life. She let out a small moan, not able to keep it inside any longer.

Jason rushed over to her with concern. "Are you okay?"

Adriana bit her lip to stop herself from screaming as she collapsed on the ground, the pain growing worse and worse. She couldn't answer Jason's question. If she opened her mouth, she wasn't sure what kind of sound would come out.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, kneeling down next to her.

Adriana finally choked out what she knew had to be the truth. "Something's wrong with the baby."


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter Twenty_

Adriana heard the distinct sounds of her mother's footsteps, but didn't turn away from the window. She was sitting in the waiting room on the first floor of General Hospital, which bustled with doctors and nurses. Phones kept ringing in the background and doctors were constantly being called over the loudspeaker. Other people in the seats around her were talking and reading. No one bothered to notice the tears that fell from Adriana's face as she stared absentmindedly out the window.

Claudia saw Adriana the second she walked into the hospital, and when she laid her eyes on her daughter, curled up in a chair next to the window, she felt like crying, too. She couldn't believe what Adriana had been going through for the past month. She felt guiltier than she ever had in her entire life. Adriana had been dealing with this all by herself, and she hadn't done a thing to try and help her.

"Hey," she said, tapping Adriana on the shoulder. Adriana didn't turn around. She just hugged her knees tighter into her chest. She couldn't look Claudia in the eye. Not now. Not ever.

"Adriana," said Claudia. Still nothing. Claudia tried grabbing Adriana's elbow, but her daughter pulled it away.

"Leave me alone," she said.

Claudia glanced around nervously. She didn't want to cause a scene right here in the hospital. "Adriana, come on, we have to go home."

"Why?" asked Adriana, finally turning around. Claudia saw that her eyes were puffy and her nose was bright red, with tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. She tried to hold back her own tears as Adriana said, "Why would you want me to go home with you after everything I did? Don't you hate me?"

Claudia shook her head. "No, of course I don't hate you." She looked around again. No one was paying them any attention, but she still didn't want to take the chance. "C'mon, let's go somewhere and talk."

Adriana wiped her eyes as she followed her mother out of the waiting room and down a deserted and dimly lit hallway. Claudia stopped at the end of it, leaning against a supply closet door and folding her arms across her chest. Adriana stood awkwardly across from her, her hands in her pockets and her eyes on the floor.

Claudia saw her daughter's discomfort, and didn't have anything to say that wouldn't make it worse. But she couldn't just sweep this whole situation under the rug. It had to be addressed, and now. "Do you wanna tell me what the hell this was all about?"

Adriana shook her head, still looking at her shoes. "Don't you know already?"

"I do, but I'd rather hear it from you," said Claudia. Adriana didn't say anything. Claudia tried to control her anger, but it was so hard. There were so many things that Adriana had done wrong. But still, she couldn't yell. Adriana was going through one of the hardest times in her life. Claudia needed to try not to make it worse and make the rift between her and Adriana even bigger. But she wasn't going to sugarcoat anything.

"Look, I need to understand why Jason Morgan, man of stone, called me, frantically explaining that he thought my daughter was having a miscarriage." Adriana let a few more tears fall from her eyes and she finally looked at Claudia. This was the first conversation they'd had in weeks, and Adriana wished it could just go back to the way it was before. It was easier when they didn't talk at all.

"And then I wondered how you could be having a miscarriage, when you weren't even pregnant," said Claudia, putting her head in her hands. It was all spinning so out of control. Six months ago, everything had been fine. She and Adriana got along great. There were no secrets. The business ran smoothly, and Adriana was bringing home all A's. A year ago, things had been even better. Adriana had two loving parents who had kept her out of danger. Claudia was happily married to Sonny, subconsciously knowing that her daughter was safe. No one had been stabbed, no one had been lied to, and no one had been pregnant. Claudia wished she could turn back the clocks to that day when she had met Adriana on the pier, and warn her of the twisted path her life was about to take.

"Adriana, I want answers and I want them now," said Claudia. She wasn't showing mercy. She needed to sort everything out before she exploded.

Adriana looked down at her hands, which were wringing together nervously. "I don't get it," she said through her tears. "The whole time I was pregnant, I didn't feel anything for the baby. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I just kept thinking about myself, and what this baby was doing to me and my life. And now that it's gone, I still don't feel anything for it. My life is screwed anyway. My grades are at rock bottom. I have no friends. My boyfriend hates me. You hate me."

"Wait, no I don't!" said Claudia, stopping her. "Why would you think that?"

Adriana shrugged. "I don't know. You hated that I slept with Kyle, so you didn't talk to me, didn't even yell at me when I came in after curfew. You didn't want anything to do with me, and I don't really blame you."

"That's not true!" Claudia insisted. "I was trying to give you your space. You kept making such a big deal about how I was always in your business and how you were an adult that could handle anything and everything."

"Well, we know that last part's not true anymore," said Adriana, folding her arms and looking at Claudia.

Her mother sighed. "I don't get it either. You lied to me. You told me that you and Kyle had been safe. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"And make that argument even worse than it already was?" spat Adriana.

She had a point, thought Claudia. "But when you found out you were pregnant, why didn't you come to me? I went through what you went through. I was alone and scared, and I could have helped you."

"We were so mad at each other," explained Adriana. "I didn't want to make it worse. And I had Kyle to help me through this." She stopped after her last sentence, remembering that afternoon at the library. Kyle had abandoned her and the baby. He didn't care about either of them. The memories made more tears start to flow from her eyes.

Claudia saw Adriana's face drop when she spoke Kyle's name, and immediately sensed that something was up. "Where is Kyle now? I thought he was helping you through this."

"I don't want to get into it," said Adriana, turning around, not wanting to look her mother in the eye anymore.

Claudia finally left her post against the wall and walked over to Adriana, standing right behind her daughter. "What did he do to you?" Adriana remained silent, arms still folded over her chest. She didn't want to talk about her and Kyle. She didn't think she could take it, not right now.

Claudia realized what was going on. "He didn't help you, did he? He left you."

"Rub it in, why don't you?" snapped Adriana, turning around so that her face was inches from her mother's. "I know you've hated Kyle from the start, and now you have an even better excuse!"

"Adriana, this isn't about that," said Claudia, trying to remain calm. "I know that I can't stand a lot of things, but one of the big ones is jerks like Kyle who get girls pregnant and then leave them to deal with it on their own."

Adriana couldn't stand listening to Claudia talk about Kyle this was. Sure, he was an ass for what he had done, but she still wasn't over him. He had broken her heart, but she couldn't forget all the things that they had shared. He had been her first true love, and she would never forget that.

"You can't completely blame Kyle for this," said Adriana. "If that baby hadn't been attached to me, I probably would have left it, too. Mother of the year, right?"

"Okay, we are not going to start a 'who's the worst mother' contest," said Claudia with a small smile, "because I win by a landslide."

"No, you were just trying to keep me safe," argued Adriana. "I wasn't doing anything right. I was barely eating, I wasn't sleeping, and I really wasn't taking care of myself at all. That's probably why I lost the baby. Whatever greater power is out there probably thought that the baby would be better off not existing than living with me for a mother."

"That's not true," said Claudia, shaking her head. "With the right guidance, you would have made the best decision you could. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you."

"Me, too," said Adriana, nodding. "But that's my fault, not yours."

Claudia looked into her daughter's deep brown eyes, and saw the same look that had been there a year ago. It was that look of pain and loss that had existed when Adriana was crying over her parents' bodies in the alley. That look that encompassed a fear of abandonment and loneliness. It was a silent yet deafening cry for help, one that Claudia would never ignore again.

Claudia was shaken out of her thoughts when she felt Adriana's arms wrap around her shoulders in one of the tightest hugs she had ever received.

"I am so sorry," said Adriana through her sobs, "for every mean thing I ever said to you, and for how awful I was to you when you really are the last person I have left!"

Claudia had been taken so off guard by her daughter's actions that she didn't know how to respond at first. But natural instincts told her to accept the hug with full force. She did, wrapping her arms tightly around Adriana, letting her own tears fall. She said, "It's okay. I'm sorry for acting like I had every right to be in your business all the time. I was out of line."

Adriana pulled away from the hug, wiping the tears that still fell from her eyes. "Things are going to be different, I promise. The baby really put things into perspective for me."

Claudia cocked her head to the side. "How so?"

"Well, I just kept thinking about all my options, and every day I'd consider the possibility of abortion, but then I thought of you." She paused, smiling. "You gave me a chance at life, and I was wasting it. I'm sorry for that, too." Claudia didn't say anything. Adriana continued. "I was a total bitch to everyone, especially you, and that was because I was taking my life for granted. You could've aborted me, but you didn't, and I promise I will never forget that. I will never waste another second of the life that you let me have."

Claudia was in awe. "Wow. That is the most mature thing that you have said in a long time."

Adriana smiled, still crying a little. "Can you forgive me?"

Claudia smiled back. "Yeah, I think I can." She put her arm around Adriana's shoulder and slowly started walking her down the hall, towards the hospital exit. "Now Kyle, on the other hand—"

"Can we not talk about him?" Adriana begged, feeling her heart tug at the sound of his name. "I don't want to talk about, look at, or even think of Kyle Cabalo ever again."

"He hurt you pretty bad, huh?"

Adriana nodded. "I just…thought he was different, you know? He was there for me when no one else was. He was like a safety net. And then one day the safety net was gone, and I didn't know what to do."

"That's understandable," said Claudia, then stopped, realizing something. "You know, you don't have to talk to me about this, any of it. We can get you to go to start going to Lainey again."

Adriana shook her head. "No. I liked going to Lainey when I only needed someone to listen. But I need someone to talk back to me. I am completely lost."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," said Claudia, being completely honest. She did know the feeling. She had been lost since she was seven and her father had sent her mother away. She was still lost to this day, and she intended on remaining lost for the rest of her life. But she wouldn't let Adriana feel the same way. It was the most awful feeling in the world, not knowing where you were going or what was around the next corner. Claudia was determined to get Adriana back on track.

"So, what can I do to start making all this up to you?" Adriana asked, a feeling of repentance brewing inside of her. She had wasted the past four months of her life, and she felt like she needed to make up for it in every way that mattered.

Claudia thought for a moment before answering. She didn't even know where to begin. "Well, I think you need to mourn a little bit." Adriana looked at her, confused. "I mean the baby." Adriana was about to say something, but Claudia continued before she could. "I know you didn't want it, and that you're probably a little relieved that you had the miscarriage, but the loss will hit you eventually. I'm sure it will."

Adriana couldn't see that happening, but didn't say that. Instead she promised, "I can do that. Then what?"

"You can start by getting your grades up," Claudia continued. They had reached the hospital exit. Claudia took her arm off of Adriana's shoulder and pushed open the door, leading the way to the car. "I want to see at least all B's on your next report card." Adriana nodded as Claudia beeped the door of the car open and continued. "I know soccer doesn't start again for awhile, but I want you to do the training camp over the summer so that your coach will see that you're dedicated and put you back on the team." She climbed into the driver's seat, while Adriana scrambled into the passenger's. As she put the key in the ignition, Claudia kept talking. "I also want to see you get some friends back. Start socializing with other people."

Adriana stared out the window as Claudia pulled out of her parking space. "Like that's ever gonna happen. My friends hate me. I don't think they'll talk to me."

"Just try," said Claudia, her eyes on the road. Adriana thought that she was finished, until she said, "And one more thing."

"What?" asked Adriana.

Claudia took a deep breath. "I don't want you talking to Kyle ever again. Don't talk to him in person. Delete his number from your phone. Defriend him on Facebook. I don't want that guy around you anymore."

Adriana thought for a second. She had been planning on doing these things anyway, but she wasn't sure she could. Her entire life had revolved around Kyle for months, and now she had to erase him out of it? It was easier said than done. But then she remembered how he had treated her, and it made the situation a little easier to bear. But she still had one question. "Can I tell him about the miscarriage?"

Claudia considered the question. Kyle had been the baby's father. "Yes. But that's it. Promise?"

Adriana nodded, a little reluctantly. "I promise."

*

"Dad, how long is this gonna take?" Kyle stood nervously in the entrance to Claudia's office, watching his father practically dismantle the desk. He hadn't been in here since that night when Claudia had found him and Adriana together, and he couldn't look around the room without thinking about it. He remembered every detail of it very clearly, and he tried not to let his memories become obvious to his father, who still didn't have any idea of his son's little adventure with the enemy.

"Be patient, Kyle!" Manny barked, but it didn't have as much anger in it as it normally would have. Manny was almost lightheaded from the excitement. In his left arm he held countless of precious documents that would bring the Zacchara organization down. He was still searching, almost not believing how lucky they had gotten. Kyle's plan to use the secret entrance had been genius; the Zacchara guards had no idea that they were there. A couple of Manny's men had watched the house, waiting for Claudia to leave. She finally had an hour ago, and Manny didn't have much time left. He worked quickly, while his son waited nervously.

"I just don't want us to get caught, Dad," said Kyle, his words only half of the truth. He didn't care if Claudia caught them. She'd probably kill them, and he almost wouldn't mind it. This week without Adriana had been hell for him. He hadn't slept at all. All he could think about was her and the baby growing inside of her. He had abandoned them when they needed him most. Adriana had loved and trusted him, and he had let it all go to waste. He could not imagine doing anything worse than that.

"We won't," insisted Manny, gathering the last of the papers. Before he could start for the door, he heard the sound of footsteps, and two of his men entered the room.

"Boss, Claudia's back," said one of them.

Manny froze. He thought he had timed it right, but it had been a little half-cocked. No one had known where Claudia had gone or when she'd be back. At least he had a plan B.

"Okay," he said, trying to remain calm. "Wait at the top of the stairs and don't come down until I give a signal." Both his men nodded and exited.

Kyle was frantic. "Dad, what're we gonna do?"

"Calm down," growled Manny, walking over to him. He reached inside his coat pocket and procured a handgun. He held it out to Kyle, who looked at it horror.

"Dad, I don't think I can—"

"Yes, you can," Manny insisted. "If you're my son, you can do it. You won't have to shoot it; we just want to make her feel outnumbered. I would never ask you to kill somebody on my behalf."

Kyle hesitated before taking the gun from his father. He had vowed to himself that he would never shoot another human being, not after what had happened to his mother. But if it was just to scare Claudia…

"Take it," ordered Manny. "Your survival might depend on it."

Kyle didn't hesitate anymore. He took the gun from his father without another word. Manny took another gun out from the holster on his belt and led the way out into the hall, where he and his son had a clear view of the front door. They stood with bated breath, until they heard the lock on the door click and turn as somebody walked inside. Kyle recognized the first pair of shoes coming through the door as Claudia's; who else but a hooker would wear shoes that red and with that much of a heel? But he was not expecting the black Converse low-tops to follow them. His heart caught itself in his throat when he realized who the other person coming inside was.

Still not noticing the unwelcome presence lurking at the end of the hall, Claudia closed the door and turned to Adriana. "Are you hungry?"

Adriana hadn't realized it, but she was famished. She hadn't had a proper meal in weeks. "Starving."

"Okay, come on, I'll make you something," said Claudia. She and Adriana started down the hall, but when they reached Manny and Kyle, they both stopped dead in their tracks. Each of them held a handgun, and both were pointed directly at the mother and daughter. Neither of them knew what exactly was going on, but they both knew that it couldn't be good.


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter Twenty-One_

It took all of Adriana's brainpower to try and figure out what the hell was going on. She tried sorting it all out in her mind, but she couldn't make heads or tails of it. In front of her was a man she had never met before and Kyle, both with guns. What was Kyle doing here with this stranger, and why did he have a gun in his hand? But most importantly: why was the gun pointed at her?

Claudia had an inkling of what was going on, but still couldn't put all the pieces together. She knew that the man in front of her was Manny Catolli and next to him was Kyle. She could give a guess as to what Manny might want, but what did Kyle have to do with anything?

Kyle couldn't think at all. He shouldn't be at Adriana's house, especially not under these circumstances. She had no idea who he really was or his true motives, and she was about to find out the hard way. He didn't think she'd be able to take it. She was already carrying a baby whose father didn't want anything to do with it. What would happen when she realized that the father had also really just been using her that whole time? Kyle didn't want to be around for the fallout on that one, but it was looking like he didn't have any choice. He regretted telling his father about the secret entrance, especially because it had put Adriana's and his baby's life in danger. Manny didn't know about the baby, and didn't seem too reluctant to get trigger happy, if it meant taking down the Zaccharas.

Adriana was the first to speak. She was so scared and confused, she almost didn't know what to say. But the words that came out were the first to come to her mind. "Claudia, what's going on?" She took a quick glance at Kyle. She couldn't stand looking at him for more than a second. "Kyle, what're you doing here?"

"Look, we do this the right way, no one gets hurt," said Manny gruffly. He hadn't been expecting Claudia to come home so soon, especially not with Adriana. Things were getting more complicated than he thought they would.

"Adriana, go upstairs," said Claudia. She didn't know how she could live if Adriana got hurt. She had already let Sonny get to her a year ago. She wouldn't put her daughter in a life-threatening situation again.

Before Adriana could move an inch, Manny called out, "Preziuso, Williams, get down here!" Claudia cringed at the sound of thumping footsteps coming down her stairs. She stole a glance behind her to see two more men, also with guns. They were outnumbered. It was four against two. Well, more like four against one. Adriana wasn't armed.

Adriana also did the math, and her face turned pale white when she came to the same conclusion as Claudia. She turned to her mother. "What's going on?"

Claudia had no idea. She looked at Manny, trying not to let her fear show in her eyes. "Yeah, what is going on?" She looked at Kyle. God, did she want to hurt him for what he had done to Adriana. But she kept her temper under control as she rudely asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Manny was almost giddy with the prospect of revealing his son's true identity to Claudia and Adriana. They'd be shocked and horrified at how well he had tricked them. He let the silence linger for another second, just to build suspense, and then he finally uttered the words, "This is my son, Kyle."

Claudia almost passed out. Kyle was Manny's son? So that meant…"Wait, what?"

Adriana still didn't understand what was going on. This was Kyle's father, but so what? The only thing she still didn't understand was what they were both doing here with bodyguards and guns.

Manny couldn't help but smile. "Yes." He looked dead into Adriana's eyes. "I'm sorry. I haven't formally introduced myself. I'm Manny Catolli."

Adriana thought for a second. Catolli—the name sounded familiar, but where had she heard it? Then it clicked. Claudia had mentioned a Catolli once. He was another crime boss in Port Charles. But wait…

"My son, Kyle, has been tricking you for the past four months or so," said Manny, still grinning. "You see, he was using you to get information on your mother's organization so that I could take it down from the inside." He looked back at Claudia, whose face was blank with shock. "And it worked."

Adriana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kyle had tricked her? But how could that be? She had trusted him and loved him. She had given up everything for him—her friends, her grades, her future, and, most importantly, her building relationship with Claudia. Everything he had ever said to her was a lie. When he had told her that he loved her…he didn't mean it. He hadn't meant any of it. Feelings were welling up inside Adriana that she had never felt before. They were feelings of pure hatred, worse than the hatred that she had for Sonny. While he had taken something that she had loved, Kyle had actually taken her love and destroyed it with his lies. He had left her alone and vulnerable, all to better the lives of him and his father. She had been loving a brick wall. The entire chapter of her life that she had spent with him was fake. It was a part of her life completely wasted—a part of her life that she could never get back. She had let her heart get trampled on over something that wasn't even real. Her hatred for Sonny couldn't even compare to what she was feeling now.

Claudia was just as, if not more, pissed than Adriana at what she had just heard. She had watched Adriana fall from the top of her game for the last four months, and it had been completely unnecessary. Adriana had put all of her trust into Kyle, and now it was being completely wasted. And, on top of faking his love for her, he had gotten her pregnant and left her to deal with the problem on her own. He had hurt Adriana in every single way possible, just so that he could help his father destroy the Zacchara organization. Never had Claudia wanted to make someone suffer as much as Kyle. She wanted to kill him, slowly and painfully until he was begging her for mercy that wouldn't come. She wanted to watch the life leave his eyes. She wanted him to pay for everything he had done to tear her family apart.

Kyle glanced between Adriana's and Claudia's faces, and didn't know which one he feared more. He had never seen Adriana's eyes look so hurt, not even that day when he had left her at the library. He hated what he had done, and he hadn't wanted Adriana to find out this way, cornered and outnumbered. He hadn't really wanted her to find out at all, but he knew it would happen eventually. Why had he done this? Why had he dug himself into this hole? The only person it was really benefiting was his father, and Kyle didn't think anyone deserved to win by playing as dirtily as he had. Why hadn't he stopped? He loved Adriana; it was a truth that he wouldn't deny to anyone, especially her. But if he loved her, why had he treated her like this? Why had he deceived her for so long? Why did he run away when he found out about the baby? Why couldn't he just own up to everything?

He looked again at Claudia. She had murder in her eyes, and he didn't blame her for it. Despite how much Adriana had complained about how overbearing and invasive Claudia was, Kyle knew that she really did love Adriana, and was trying to do what was best for her. And now that his secret was out, he knew that she'd do anything to get him back for what he had done.

Claudia took her eyes away from Kyle. She couldn't look into his fake sorry face anymore. She directed her gaze at Manny. "What do you want?"

Manny, despite his pleasure at Claudia's realization of defeat, shot back angrily, "What do you think I want? I want what I deserve! The Zacchara and Corinthos-Morgan empires have been on top for too damn long. It's time for someone else to run Port Charles."

"Says who?" spat Claudia. She needed to stall and figure out an exit strategy that wouldn't end with a bullet in hers or Adriana's head. She had a gun in her purse, but what use was one gun against four? She needed to think of something, and fast. Manny didn't look too reluctant to start getting trigger-happy.

Manny scowled at Claudia's retort. "Says me. I don't like being pushed aside. It's happened before, and I won't let it happen again. Port Charles belongs to me."

Claudia was struck with an idea. Maybe she should get him angry? His buttons seemed easy to push, and maybe his irritation would distract him long enough for her to try something. She still had to consider Kyle and the two men behind her, though. She kept stalling. "And what makes you think I'm eager to hand over what's rightfully mine?"

It was working. Manny's face started to redden, and the hand holding the gun seemed to loosen a little bit. But he wasn't giving up that easily. "Now, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said, trying to keep his voice at a reasonable volume. "Sign over the properties I want."

Claudia wasn't giving up either. "Or what?"

Manny smirked. He hadn't expected this to be so easy. Claudia was just setting herself up to fail. He gave a nod to one of the men behind the mother and daughter. The man nodded back and swiftly moved towards Adriana, where he put his left arm around her neck in a chokehold and held his gun underneath her chin. Adriana started shaking in fear. Tears started rolling down her eyes. She hadn't been this scared for almost a year.

Claudia instantly pulled her gun out of her purse and pointed it directly between Manny's eyes. While on the outside she looked tough, deep down she was scared. She couldn't believe they were taking things this far. She didn't know how she would live if Adriana died right in front of her. She wouldn't let it happen. She couldn't. "Let her go," she said, her voice a deadly whisper. "Haven't you put her through enough hell?"

Adriana tried her hardest not to start sobbing as she met Kyle's eyes. How could he be letting this happen after everything that he had put her through? He looked right back at her, guilt and fear all over his face. It wasn't until she noticed him glance at her stomach that she realized something: he didn't know that the baby was dead.

Despite the fear clouding her mind, Adriana couldn't help but think to use Kyle's lack of knowledge to hers and Claudia's advantage. She placed her hands, which were still free, to her stomach. Kyle noticed, and his eyes became even bigger.

"Dad, stop!" he shouted, making everyone jump. He hadn't spoken at all this whole time. But he couldn't keep quiet anymore. He didn't think it would come to this. His father had promised that he wouldn't hurt Adriana again, not after he had had her followed and attacked that night that seemed so long ago. Kyle couldn't stand to watch her so scared, especially for their unborn child. He may not have wanted anything to do with it, but he wouldn't stand here and watch two lives end from one bullet.

Claudia wondered what had caused Kyle's sudden outburst, seeing as he hadn't objected to anything that had been said or done up to this point. She stole a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at Adriana, and saw her daughter's hands wrapped tightly around her stomach. At first she thought it was just cramps from the miscarriage, but then she remembered that Adriana hadn't told Kyle about the baby yet.

Despite Claudia's utter fear at watching Adriana be held at gunpoint, she couldn't help but feel proud of her daughter, coming up with an idea that might end this whole thing peacefully. Manny might be crazy, but she didn't think he'd be willing to kill an unborn baby.

Manny looked at Kyle. What was his problem? All he had to do was stand there and make it look like Claudia was outnumbered. Was he starting to feel some kind of sympathy for Adriana? Manny had considered the possibility, but not this late in the game.

When no one made a move after his outburst, Kyle continued, "Dad, just let her go. You promised you wouldn't hurt her."

Adriana couldn't believe her plan was working. Kyle was actually taking her side. She tried not to read too much into it, though. No matter how well this whole thing might end, she wasn't giving Kyle another chance. There was nothing he could do to redeem himself.

"Kyle, stay out of this!" Manny shouted at him, his eyes and gun on Claudia. He said to her, "Give me what I want, or I'll kill her."

Adriana started to feel more tears flowing as the man holding her tightened his grip around her neck and shoved the gun harder into her cheek. C'mon, Kyle, she thought. Tell him.

"Dad, you can't do this," pleaded Kyle.

"Why not?" snapped Manny, his eyes still on Claudia.

Kyle didn't want to tell him. He'd be so angry. But if it saved Adriana's life, and the life of her baby, he had to do it. "She's pregnant, Dad," he said, his voice soft in fear.

Everyone froze. Adriana, despite all her hoping and praying, couldn't believe that her lie had worked. Claudia hadn't been expecting Kyle to actually fess up. Kyle waited for his father's reaction.

Manny didn't know what to say. He lowered his gun. Claudia lowered hers, too. Adriana felt the man's grip around her loosen slightly. There was a tense silence until Manny repeated, "Pregnant?"

Kyle nodded reluctantly. "Yes. With my child."

Manny paused for another second, considering the heavy information he had just been burdened with. But it only took that one second for him to make a decision. He raised his gun at Claudia again. On instinct, Claudia raised hers, too. Adriana felt the familiar arm around her neck and gun against her chin. She started crying again, this time not afraid to let out a whimper.

"Dad, no!" shouted Kyle. He thought it would work. He thought Adriana and the baby would be safe. But his father hadn't listened. He didn't understand the true consequences.

"Give me what I want or your daughter and her baby die," Manny threatened Claudia, ignoring his son.

What happened next went by so fast, but Adriana saw it all in slow motion. She heard her mother retort, "Rot in hell" as she pulled the trigger of her gun. She watched as Kyle realized what Claudia was about to do and raise his own gun, letting a bullet fly from the barrel. And finally, she saw Claudia and Manny collapse to the ground at the sound of two simultaneous gunshots.

Once this whole scenario had passed, time returned to its regular speed. The man holding Adriana let her go and shoved her to the ground as he, the other man, and Kyle ran to kneel over Manny. Adriana gave herself a second to get her bearings, then realized what had happened. She crawled over to where Claudia lay, crumpled and bleeding, on the floor. There was a bullet hole in her side, and blood was pouring out of it. Claudia's eyes were closed, and her chest moved up and down slightly. At least she's still alive, Adriana thought. At least we have a chance to save her.

Adriana looked over to the group around Manny. One of Manny's men was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, ordering two ambulances right away. Adriana looked at Kyle, who was looking back at her. His eyes screamed an apology, but it was one that Adriana would never accept.


	22. Chapter 22

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

"Don't talk to me." Adriana stood in a corner of the emergency room, her arms folded and tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Adriana, I need you to listen to me," Kyle insisted. He had been trying to coax her into letting him explain himself for the past half hour while their parents fought for their lives in surgery. But she wouldn't listen to him. He could understand why; what had happened tonight had been the icing on a very volatile cake.

"Why should I listen to you?" Adriana spat, refusing to turn around and look him in the eye. "You lied to me, pretended that you loved me, got me pregnant, and left me. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that you just shot Claudia."

"Yeah, and she shot my dad!" Kyle spat back. Adriana finally turned around, letting Kyle see her bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks. Kyle regretted his words instantly. He had no right to be defensive.

Adriana was so angry, and she wanted so bad to just start hitting Kyle and yelling at him, but she couldn't, not in the middle of the emergency room. So she kept her voice at a menacingly low volume as she said, "Don't even try to defend yourself. The only reason Claudia shot your dad was because he had broken into our house, with your help, and threatened to kill me if Claudia didn't sign over what he wanted. I hope your dad dies in that operating room, and I hope he rots in hell until you get there."

Kyle was about to say something back, but Adriana shoved past him when two familiar faces entered the hospital. Adriana hadn't seen either of these men since last year, and she had never been happier to have them in her presence.

"Mac, Lucky," she called, walking over to them. They turned when she called their names.

"What's going on?" asked Mac. "We got a call into the station that Claudia and Manny Catolli were shot. What happened?"

Adriana didn't answer the question. Instead, she pointed at Kyle and said, "I want him arrested." Kyle heard her, and walked over to the group to try and clear his name.

"Look, officers, I can explain—" he started, but Adriana wouldn't let him finish.

"No, you can't," she spat. She turned back to Mac and Lucky. "Arrest him. Now."

"Why don't you just tell us what happened?" said Lucky, trying to keep the situation calm. He took out his notepad, ready to write down everything that Adriana said.

"Kyle shot Claudia!" Adriana shouted, not able to contain her anger or her fear for her mother anymore.

Kyle couldn't help but defend himself. "Claudia shot my dad!"

"Yeah, because his dad was gonna kill me!"

"Look, it's not like that," Kyle tried to explain to the cops.

Adriana was furious. After all he had put her, and now Claudia, through, he was actually trying to spin what he did into something innocent? "You little skeaze! I can't believe you're—" She stopped at that moment though, holding her stomach tightly. The cramps hadn't hurt this bad since she was at the cemetery with Jason. But now, they were killing her.

Kyle watched her hold her stomach, and instantly became concerned. "Adriana, you need to calm down," he warned. "You can't get this stressed. It's hurting the baby." He tried to put his arms around her comfortingly, but she wouldn't let him touch her.

"Oh, like you give a damn about the baby!" she shouted back. She still hadn't told him that their child was dead, and didn't feel like bringing it up now when more important things were going on.

Other people in the emergency room looked in their direction. Adriana realized she was causing a scene, but she didn't care. She had every right to be angry. Claudia was fighting for her life because of Kyle, a lying, tricking, and hurtful son of a bitch that Adriana wanted to slap so badly.

Mac and Lucky looked between Adriana and Kyle, trying to figure out the situation. They had the general idea of what had happened, but the few shouted sentences they had heard weren't enough to convict anybody of anything. "Here, why don't you sit down?" asked Mac, guiding Adriana to a seat in the waiting room. Lucky and Kyle trailed behind them. Kyle made a move to sit down in the seat next to his ex-girlfriend, but one death glare from her was enough to make him keep his distance.

Lucky folded his arms. "You know, this might be better if we did it down at the station."

Adriana shook her head. "No, I can't leave, not until I know Claudia's gonna be okay." She couldn't stand what had happened. Even though she wouldn't admit it with Kyle in her presence, Claudia getting shot had been all her fault. If she hadn't been stupid enough to trust Kyle, none of this would have happened. No hurtful words would have been said, no babies would have been made, and no one would have gotten shot. Adriana wished she hadn't fallen for Kyle this hard, or at all, for that matter. She wished she could reverse the clock and reject that first date that they had had. But she couldn't, so now she wallowed in guilt, wanting to change things that would forever remain the same.

"Okay, well, it doesn't look like we'll be getting the whole story with these two near each other," said Mac, looking between Adriana and Kyle, who were avoiding each others eyes. "So, Lucky, why don't you take Kyle somewhere else and talk to him, and I'll stay here and talk to Adriana."

Lucky nodded and started walking away, indicating for Kyle to follow him. Kyle did, giving Adriana one last parting glance. Adriana didn't look at him. Instead, she folded her arms and looked down at the ground. Even though she wanted Kyle to pay for what he had done, she hadn't wanted to explain the whole night. It was so painful. She didn't think she could do it.

"So, what happened?" Mac asked. He seemed like he really cared, which Adriana appreciated. She would rather talk to Mac than Lucky, seeing as Lucky hated Claudia and probably wouldn't listen to anything that she said. She was about to start the story when she heard two pairs of footsteps behind her. She spun around in her chair to see Johnny and Diane, briefcase in hand, heading towards her. She had called both of them on her way to the hospital, and couldn't be happier that they had come so quickly.

"I hope you weren't planning on questioning my client without representation," said Diane in her own special way of greeting. Adriana knew that she didn't like to be called after dark, but this was an emergency. "Need I remind you that it's a crime, especially considering that she's a minor?"

"Diane, it's okay," said Adriana as Johnny put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I don't have anything to hide." She hadn't asked Diane here to defend her from the cops. She wanted to make sure that Kyle got put away for what he had done. She turned back to Mac. "Kyle shot Claudia. I saw it."

"Yes, I know, but it's not that black and white," explained Mac. "He said that he did it to stop Claudia from shooting Catolli, who you said was threatening to kill you. It sounds like two counts of self-defense."

No, thought Adriana. Kyle was not getting off that easily. "They broke into our house! No self-defense would be necessary if that hadn't happened!"

"Commissioner, I'm going to ask that we continue this interrogation at another time," Diane cut in. "My client is obviously emotionally distraught and in no condition to provide a competent legal statement."

"Will people stop treating me like I'm five?" Adriana growled, standing up. "I called Mac here. He needs to know that Kyle shot Claudia! And I'm not gonna stand here and watch it get shoved under the rug as self-defense!"

"Yes, but we don't need you convicting Claudia in the process," said Diane, remaining calm but curt. "My job is not to prosecute Kyle. It's to keep your mother out of prison." Adriana folded her arms defiantly. Diane was right. Getting revenge on Kyle would wait. Right now, their main priority was keeping Claudia alive and not facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Diane took in Adriana's surrender, and then turned to Mac. "Commissioner, I'd like to talk to you for a moment regarding when we can reschedule this little, uh, meeting." She took Mac by the arm and guided him to a corner of the emergency room, leaving Johnny and Adriana alone.

"How is she?" Johnny asked, hungry for information.

Adriana shrugged, letting a few more tears fall. "I don't know. She's still in surgery." She looked her uncle straight in the eye. "What if she dies, Johnny?" Johnny took note of her severe distress and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"That's not gonna happen," he assured. "I don't know anyone who is more of a fighter than Claudia."

"I will never forgive myself if she doesn't make it through this," sobbed Adriana. "I was so awful to her and I never got the chance to make it up." She looked up at Johnny, tears still flowing from her eyes. "I can't lose anyone else, Johnny. I don't think I can take it."

"She'll make it through this, I promise," Johnny insisted. Adriana nodded, wanting to believe him so much. But having been through so much in the past year, she couldn't help but think of only the awful outcomes of the situation.

She looked around Johnny to see Lucky and Kyle making their way back into the emergency room. Lucky walked over to the corner where Mac and Diane were talking, while Kyle stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Adriana took pleasure in his discomfort until she saw two doctors enter the emergency room. She ran over to the one that had done Claudia's surgery, Patrick Drake, with Johnny right behind her, while Kyle made his way over to the other doctor, Matt Hunter. Mac, Lucky, and Diane looked over from their corner.

"How is she?" Adriana asked Patrick, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"She'll be okay," he said, and Adriana almost passed out from relief. Claudia would be okay. Kyle hadn't ruined everything.

"That's great," said Johnny, also relieved. "Can we see her?"

Patrick nodded. "One at a time, though. She's still out from anesthesia, and I'm not expecting her to come around for quite some time. I think we'll be able to release her in about a week. It looks like she'll make a full recovery."

"Thank you so much," said Adriana, meaning every word of her apology as tears of joy sprung to her eyes.

Patrick smiled. "It's no problem." He walked over to the nurses' station as Adriana turned to Johnny, grinning from ear to ear.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, ecstatic. "Claudia's gonna be okay!"

"Yeah," said Johnny also smiling. He knew that Claudia would make it, but he was glad that Adriana's doubts were removed. As she gave him a huge hug to express her happiness, she looked over her shoulder and watched Kyle's face fall as Matt gave him his news. She knew what the face meant, and immediately decided not to press charges.

Because nothing she did to him could be worse than the punishment he was receiving now.


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

Adriana had been sitting at her mother's bedside as much as she could the past week. She'd leave to go home for a shower and sleep, and to go to school, but other than that, she was at the hospital, making sure Claudia had everything she needed. Claudia slept most of the time, but Adriana had plenty to keep her busy. Wanting to make good on her promises, she dragged her entire locker to the hospital every afternoon and either worked on homework or studied for upcoming tests. It felt good to focus on school again. It made Adriana feel like herself. Even though she would struggle occasionally, seeing as she hadn't really been paying attention in any of her classes for months, she'd teach herself what she had missed and try to work through the things she didn't understand. In that one week, she had already gotten herself caught up in English by reading the required chapters of _Tom Sawyer_, and in Spanish, where she had taught herself the imperfect, conditional, and future tenses of all the verbs they had learned so far. She was still a little behind in physics and calculus, and planned on meeting after school with her teachers once Claudia was out of the hospital. Right now, she was outlining the fifth of seven chapters that she had ignored in history class. The chair next to her was stacked two inches high with her meticulous notes. She wasn't looking forward to going over all of them and really understanding the material, but that was her punishment for not paying attention.

Adriana looked up from her notes on the downfall of the Russian empire to glance at Claudia. Her mother had been asleep for about an hour now, and Adriana was glad she was resting. Tomorrow, Dr. Drake was going to release her from the hospital, and Adriana couldn't wait until her mother came home and they could go back to their normal lives. She wanted so bad to have pleasant conversations over dinner instead of quiet death glare contests. She wanted to bring home an A-plus paper instead of hiding a C-worthy physics lab. She wanted her calendar to be full of plans with her friends instead of left empty in case Kyle wanted to do something. To sum it all up, she wanted back the life that she had grown to accept after her parents' death.

A knock on the doorjamb of Claudia's room shook Adriana out of her thoughts. She turned to see Kyle, dressed in a black suit, standing solemnly by the door. Adriana took another glance at Claudia, then stood up, placing her textbook, binder, and pencil on her chair. She didn't want to do this in here and disturb the peace that Claudia really deserved. She walked out the door and into the hallway, where Kyle was waiting for her, his hands in his suit pockets.

"Hey," he said when she came out. He couldn't place what it was, but something was different about her. She was still beautiful, but in a different way. He thought about it for a second. Her hair looked the same, pulled back into a long ponytail. She was wearing the same uniform that she wore to school every day. She wasn't taller or shorter. So what was it? What was so different about her?

After a moment of pondering, he realized what it was. It was her eyes. Something was different about them. They were still big and brown, but instead of glowing warmth emanating from them, Kyle saw a piercing heat, something he had never seen in them before. It was like they had built up a shield around Adriana, protecting her from trusting anyone too quickly or believing everything that people told her. Her eyes had become lie detectors almost. Well, it was a good thing he would never lie to her again.

"What do you want?" she asked rudely. She hadn't talked to Kyle at all this past week. He hadn't been at school, and neither of them had made any effort to contact each other. She didn't really want to hear what he had to say, but she'd humor him. For now.

Kyle ignored her rudeness, no matter how much it hurt. "I, uh, wanted to talk to Claudia," he said.

"She's asleep," said Adriana, not waiting even a second to give a response.

"Oh, okay…well, then, I won't bother her," muttered Kyle. Adriana turned to go back into the room, but Kyle stopped her. "Wait."

Adriana looked back at him. "What?" she asked impatiently.

"Can I just tell you what I wanted to say to Claudia?" he asked.

Adriana rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"I wanted to apologize," he said, and Adriana hated how much it sounded like it meant it. "I shouldn't have reacted so quickly and shot her. I was just trying to protect my dad. And I also wanted to tell her that I wasn't pressing charges. I've put you guys through enough. As far as anyone knows, that whole night was just a freak accident."

Adriana nodded, refusing to let herself become too emotionally invested in his loss. "Okay. I'll tell her." She started to head back into Claudia's room again, but Kyle called her back.

"I'm not finished," he said.

Great, thought Adriana. What else could he possibly want? "Make it quick. I've got homework to do."

Kyle paused for a moment, making sure he had everything ready that he had been planning to say. "I owe you an apology, too. For a lot of things."

"I was wondering when this would happen," said Adriana, voicing her thoughts aloud.

Kyle ignored her comment. "I used you for my dad's selfish plans, and I'm sorry. You gave up a lot for me, and it put yours and Claudia's lives in danger. But you need you to know something: what I felt for you wasn't an act. It was real."

Adriana folded her arms. "Oh, give me a break—"

"I'm not lying!" Kyle insisted. "I loved you. I still love you, and I know I messed up, but we can get past that."

"You don't get it, do you?" asked Adriana, tears springing to her eyes. "I lost everything when my parents died. It took me a long time to pick up the pieces of my life. And when I met you, and I started trusting you and loving you—or, at least I thought I was loving you—I thought my life was turning around. The fact that I was capable of letting someone into my heart like that…I thought I was healing from the worst thing that's ever happened to me. But I wasn't. It was a lie." Kyle looked down at his feet. "You took the one thing I had left. You took my ability to trust someone the way I trusted you. And that's not something I can just get back."

Kyle looked up. "I never meant to take that from you. I never knew things would go as far as they did—"

"What, you mean when we slept together?" asked Adriana. Kyle didn't say anything, so she continued. "When we made a baby that just messed up all your plans so you walked out on it? And me?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Kyle. He took a second to prepare himself for what he had really come here to say. "I just buried my dad today, so now I know how it feels not to have any parents. I thought not having one was bad enough, which it is." Adriana just looked down at her hands, not saying anything. "But you probably don't want to hear my sob story."

"No, not really," Adriana murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

Her statement hurt Kyle, but he pushed forward anyway. "My dad left me everything, and so I was thinking about selling the house. It was big and empty with just the two of us, and I don't think I could stand living there myself."

Adriana shrugged. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Kyle continued, "I was thinking about buying an apartment, and I was thinking you might want to move in with me."

Adriana's jaw dropped. He could not be serious. "Move in with you? What makes you think I'd want to do that?"

"Just hear me out," implored Kyle. "I graduate this year. I could put off going to college for another year until you graduate. You can still go to high school and get your diploma and everything, and I'll stay home with the baby. Then maybe we can go to college together."

Crap, thought Adriana. With everything that had gone on in the past week, she still hadn't had the chance to tell Kyle about their child. "Kyle—"

"Listen," he insisted. "I'm trying to make everything up to you. I should never have left you when I found out you were pregnant, and now I know that it's my job, as the baby's father, to step up and take care of it. I know you don't want anything to do with me, and I don't blame you, but this kid shouldn't grow up without a father, and you can't take care of it by yourself. We'll raise it together. We can be a family." His mouth formed a smile, but it didn't last for long when he heard what Adriana had to say.

"The baby's dead, Kyle."

He froze. Dead? But how could that be? A week ago it had been alive and healthy. It must have been his fault. This whole situation had put so much stress on Adriana that it had caused her to lose her child.

Adriana watched his shocked face, and felt a fleeting sense of guilt. But she brushed it away when she remembered everything that he had done to her. "The baby's been dead for a week now. That night, when—" She stopped herself. He knew which night. "That night, Claudia and I were coming home from the hospital."

How was that possible? Adriana had still been pregnant when she had come home, she had to have been. He remembered that night as clearly as if it had just happened. She had held her stomach and begged him with her eyes to help her and their child. The baby couldn't have been dead then. Unless, of course…

"You lied to me?" he asked incredulously.

Adriana's face turned red faster than a traffic light. "Oh, and you have just been Mr. Truthful this whole time?"

She had a point. But Kyle still wouldn't give up on her. They had had something good, despite his lies, and he wouldn't let it go to waste because of his stupidity. "I'm sorry about the baby, I really am. But that doesn't mean—"

"Kyle, even if I was still pregnant, I wouldn't want anything to do with you!" Adriana yelled at him. "You lied to me! You took everything from me that I had left to give! You don't deserve a second chance!"

Kyle knew she was right. He didn't deserve her or her love. But he couldn't stop fighting for it, not after everything they had been through together. "Adriana—"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm done. I can't put myself through this anymore. I don't want anything to do with you. I hate you."

I hate you. Those three words hurt more than anything. Yes, he had treated her awfully, but he could redeem himself, if she'd just give him a chance. But by that look on her face, he knew it was over.

Adriana saw his look of defeat, and knew that he finally understood that her mind was made up. She reached to the back of her neck and undid the clasp of her necklace. She removed it from her neck and held it in front of her, sliding off the heart locket that Kyle had given her. Her fingers brushed against the ring, and she felt a piercing sadness in her heart. She had been wearing a gift from a liar and a ring from someone she loved, together. She almost felt like she had tainted the ring, letting it hang next to that locket for so long. She thought about her parents now. Would they be proud of her for standing up for herself, or disappointed that she was being so closed-minded about giving Kyle a second chance? She honestly couldn't decide. She had never put herself in this kind of situation while they were alive, and was glad she hadn't. If she had put them through the hell that she had put Claudia, she really didn't think she'd ever forgive herself.

Adriana put her necklace back on, now without the locket. She held out her hand to Kyle, offering him his gift back.

Kyle looked down at the locket and tried to stay calm. "No, you keep it."

"I don't want it," said Adriana through gritted teeth. "Take it. Please." He looked at it for another second, then reached out, took the locket, and held it tightly in his fist. They stood there together for a second of awkward silence, before Adriana gave her parting words.

"Have a nice life," she said, then turned back into Claudia's room.

Once she was inside, Adriana closed the door and rested her forehead on its wood paneling, letting a silent tear fall from her eye.

"That didn't sound fun," said a voice, and Adriana practically jumped out of her skin. She turned around to see Claudia sitting up in her bed, wide awake and worried.

"How much did you hear?" asked Adriana, walking over to her and sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed.

"Enough," said Claudia. Adriana looked down at her hands, not saying anything. "I'm proud of you."

Adriana looked up, and Claudia saw how red her eyes were. "For what? Being a total bitch to everyone, including you? Lying to you? Taking everything you gave me for granted?"

Claudia shook her head. "For standing up for yourself. You let Kyle control you for months, but now you're telling him how it is. That takes a lot of guts."

"I don't like hating him," said Adriana, not realizing that it was true until the words came out of her mouth. "In fact, it's actually killing me to feel this way. I mean, after everything we shared—"

Claudia stopped her before she could go any further. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Adriana shook her head furiously. "No, of course not." It was a little lie. She was wondering what would have happened if she had accepted his offer to move in with him. Would she have been able to forgive him? No, of course not. He had hurt her worse than anyone had ever before, including Sonny. What he did didn't deserve redemption.

Claudia smiled. "Good." She noticed that Adriana's eyes were still downcast. "Hey, cheer up," she said. Adriana looked up, but still didn't smile. "I'll be out of here tomorrow, then things can start going back to normal." She looked over at the pile of papers and books on the two chairs next to her bed. "I'm glad you've been working hard."

Adriana nodded. "Yeah. I really want to bring my grades up."

"That's good," said Claudia nodding. Adriana still looked really down. Claudia couldn't blame her. She had loved and trusted Kyle for so long that it was understandable that she'd be a little lost now without him. But Claudia wouldn't let it get in the way of their return to their regular lives. "You gonna be okay?"

Adriana shrugged. "I don't know. Eventually. But not right now."

What could Claudia do to cheer her up? There had to be something that would put a smile back on her daughter's face. But what?

Claudia was struck with a sudden idea. It wasn't a something. It was a someone. "Hey, after I'm released tomorrow, I want to take you somewhere."


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

"I don't think I can do this," said Adriana. Claudia had stopped the car two minutes ago, and she still hadn't unbuckled her seatbelt. She just looked up at the house, her hands twisting nervously in her lap.

"Yes, you can," Claudia encouraged. She hadn't driven all the way out here on the day she had been released from the hospital just to turn around and go home. "You have to."

"But what if she doesn't want to be friends again?" It was the greatest possible outcome. Adriana hadn't talked to Kristina for months, and the last time they had spoken hadn't been pleasant.

Claudia sighed. Adriana had asked that question about ten times since they had left the hospital, and Claudia's answer remained the same: "You won't know unless you try and apologize."

"But what do I say?" asked Adriana.

Claudia shrugged. "I don't know. Just tell her the truth."

"But—"

"No," interrupted Claudia. She put her right hand on the keys and turned the ignition to the left, shutting the car all the way off. "I am not starting this car again until you march up there and at least try to apologize."

Adriana could tell that Claudia was serious, so she stopped arguing. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger-side door, trying to collect her thoughts as she slammed it and walked up to the front of the house. Her right hand, shaking with nerves, rapped on the wood of the front door sharply three times. Great, thought Adriana. She had knocked. She couldn't take it back now.

It felt like forever, waiting on the front step. At first, Adriana didn't think anyone was home, but then she heard the thumping of someone's feet on the stairs. The front door opened to reveal a very surprised Kristina, one iPod earphone in her left ear, the right one hanging by her side. The volume was turned way up, and Adriana could distinctly hear a Taylor Swift song playing. She tried not to let her new hatred of Taylor Swift's music cloud her concentration on the mission at hand.

"Hey," she said, not knowing how else to start. She could feel Claudia's stare from the car, and tried not to let it bother or distract her.

"Hey," Kristina said back. Adriana wished she would pause the music. It would make her feel like Kristina actually cared about what she had to say.

"Um, look," said Adriana, finally deciding to just say what she needed to and get it over with, "I really need to tell you something, and you probably don't want to hear it, but here it is anyway: I'm sorry. I put Kyle before our friendship. I acted like a total bitch to you over something that should have never happened. And, after you already hated me, I tried mooching off your work in physics because I was too lazy to do it myself. I'm sorry for all of it."

Kristina didn't say anything. The only sound was the iPod still playing that Taylor Swift song. Adriana had never had any extreme feelings about Taylor Swift. She had never hated her or liked her, just merely tolerated her. But if she heard one more song about how love was fairytale perfect all the time, she thought she would puke. Taylor Swift didn't know anything about love. She didn't know how much it consumed your whole life, letting you believe it was perfect, and then sent you crashing back down to the ground when the person you thought you loved turned out to be a fake. Love was a drug; it got you high for a little bit, then let you down faster than you would have liked. And, when you tried to achieve that same blissful high again, it was gone. And the only magical thing about love was that it revealed a person's true nature, and that wasn't always necessarily a good thing.

Her current Taylor Swift hatred aside, Adriana continued on her spiel when Kristina still hadn't said anything. "I've been through a lot these past couple months, and most of it I struggled through by myself. I could have really used a friend, but I didn't have any, and that's my fault."

Still nothing. The song on Kristina's iPod changed from Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber. Adriana made a vow to herself that if she and Kristina ever rekindled their friendship, she would try to introduce her friend to music that wasn't crap.

"I'm not here to ask you to forgive me," said Adriana, deciding to wrap everything up. Kristina was obviously not in the mood for an apology. But at least Adriana had tried. "I just want you to know that I realize how awful I was, and that I'm trying to turn things around for myself. So, I guess I'll see you at school." Adriana started to walk back to the car, but Kristina called her back.

"What happened with you and Kyle?" she asked. Adriana turned back around with mixed emotions. While she was glad that Kristina had actually said more than just, "Hey," she didn't even want to think about Kyle, much less talk about him. But maybe Kristina could help her through this, if she still wanted to be friends.

"What have you heard?" Adriana asked. She had been focusing so hard on getting her academic life back on track that she hadn't even given a thought to what people at school might have heard about her and Kyle's rollercoaster ride.

Kristina shrugged. "Bits and pieces. I heard his dad died, at your house."

Adriana cringed. So word had gotten out. "Yeah."

"And Kiefer said that he's graduating early," Kristina continued. "Apparently he has enough credits. He said he's going to Berkeley in California."

Adriana hadn't heard about that, but was glad that it might be true. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Kyle at school anymore. "I don't know."

"So, what happened?" asked Kristina, and Adriana couldn't tell if it was legitimate concern, or if she just wanted to one-up everybody else in the grade on gossip.

"It's, uh…it's a long story," said Adriana looking at the ground. "And, I, uh…I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Kristina nodded. "Okay." They stood for a second in awkward silence before she asked, "Do you wanna come in? We can get a movie on-demand and just chill for a little bit."

Adriana's mouth opened in shock. Was she serious? As much as she had wanted for Kristina to be her friend again, she didn't think that she would actually accept her apology. "Really?"

Kristina smiled. "Yeah. Come on. I'll go order a pizza." She turned back into her house and Adriana started to follow her, stopping with one foot in the door. She turned around to the car to see Claudia's anxious face from the driver's side. She flashed her mother a thumbs-up, and then went inside, closing the door behind her.

Claudia smiled, starting the car's ignition. It looked like she would be eating dinner alone tonight, but for the first time in months, she didn't mind.


End file.
